


A Crack in the Ceiling

by thedragonbot



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Canon Compliant, Eventual Smut, Fluff, M/M, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon, Romance, Slow Romance, boy is there sex, i don't know if it qualifies, small angst?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-22
Updated: 2018-06-22
Packaged: 2019-05-26 22:47:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 27,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15011096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedragonbot/pseuds/thedragonbot
Summary: Tiran Kandros is ready to give up on Andromeda. That is, until the Hyperion arrives. As Tiran finally sees the success he's been aching to see, he also sees something more - the beauty of Scott Ryder. Throughout the events of Mass Effect: Andromeda, will Tiran face up to his feelings for Scott?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My entry for the 2018 MEBB! It was a blast to work on this with the artist, [Lehonk](http://lehonk.tumblr.com/)!

 

  
[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/141062509@N06/29084126578/in/dateposted-public/)

 

Tiran Kandros woke up with a start, eyes snapping wide open. He rose too quickly, and growled, his subharmonics reaching a low pitch. He clutched his head in his hands, and slowly lowered himself back to his bed. After a moment, his headache subsided, but he still laid there, unmoving. He studied the ceiling that he had studied thousands of times before, trying to discern something different for the thousandth time.

And, for the thousandth time, he found nothing.

He grumbled to himself before rolling out of his bed, slowly standing and shuffling over to his personal shower. He turned the water on a cold blast in an effort to wake himself up. And to forget.

This was the fourth nightmare he had this week. Spirits only knew how many he had had that whole year. He closed his eyes, letting the water rinse off his plates and skin. They always got worse, until he talked to someone about them, or when something actually went right on the Nexus. Which wasn’t often.

This time, his lieutenant, Sajax, was subject to the rather unrealistic night terrors Kandros had been having. Nothing he hadn't dreamt before. A kett ambush, followed up with a repeat of the Uprising, ending in getting spaced. If only these nightmares were about him, then he could get on with it, try dispel them from his mind.

Unfortunately for him, each time was someone different. Someone he cared about, or someone he worked with, or someone he saw around the Nexus. Even Tann had made his way into his dreams, and one time, he remembered this dream vividly, Sloane Kelly was there. He shuddered. Don’t think about her. It won’t end well.

After Kandros decided to shift the water to an even colder temperature, he scrubbed himself with his brushes, making sure to drag out the process. He wanted to focus on the tasks for the day, forget about his night, deal with the problems that would inevitably arise, and NOT think about a certain person. As he scrubbed, and against his better judgement, his mind wandered over the Nexus and its’ state. Things really couldn’t get worse than this.

But could they?

He finished rinsing himself off, and he turned off the water quickly. Of course it could get worse. It was already worse. Food shortages, low on supplies, no colonies, too many people still in cryo, too many people exiled spirits know where, and even more lost somewhere in the confines of dark space. The arks were the biggest worry out of everything that was happening. Where were they? Did they turn around? Did the arks have a system malfunction, did they all die? Overshoot Andromeda? _Where were they?_

He shook his head and made a cup of coffee. When he dwelled on these things, it always ended up bad for his well-being. Last week, he had worried emails from Kesh, Addison, Sajax, the bartender at Cortex, and several preemptive appointments made by Tann and Addison, even a worried email from Vetra. Oh, Vetra. He took a long drink and grimaced. Bitter, unsweetened. The two never really got along, not since that shitstorm of a breakup, but every now and then they would meet up, talk. It never really ended well. He took another bitter gulp. Spirits, what he wouldn’t give for some cream or anything right now. He grimaced again and took another drink. First Sloane, then Vetra. What a shitty year. Swirled his coffee around, wishing cream wasn’t so expensive.

_Why did we have to bring capitalism with us?_ Kandros drained the rest of his coffee and shook his head, his mandibles flaring out in distaste. “Of all things to bring to this hellhole…” he muttered softly. His mind quickly accepted this topic change as he began dressing up in his armor. _When all we’re trying to do here is to survive, you would think that our priorities would be outside of money and financial situations when everything is here to kill us_. He finished clasping everything together, took his portable shield generator from the counter in his kitchen (as well as a bland dextro sandwich - maybe he could score some spices from Sajax) and paused, glancing at his clock on his omnitool. 0530 Galactic Standard time. It's too early for this shit. He flicked his wrist down and walked out the door, heading towards the tram system with his working on a way to use capitalism against the kett in this new, hostile galaxy.

 

Kandros felt happy, until he walked into Tann’s office. His meaningless thoughts on capitalism had kept his mind distracted, and then the entire Nexus head started talking. By talking, it was more like a controlled and systematic argument. Someone would say something, then someone else would refute, then another subject would manifest itself, and the cycle repeated until Tann had enough. It was the perfect combo for the ultimate headache, and Kandros was feeling it; they were only an hour in.

Addison was standing, her face contorted with anger as she pointed a finger at Kesh. Kesh leaned back, the ghost of a smile on her face as she took in whatever the hell Addison was saying. Tann was sitting between the two, his attention buried in a datapad. Presumably with Nexus reports, food supplies and the likes. Judging by the expression on Tann’s face, it was definitely bad news. When wasn’t it bad news?

Kandros resumed his gazing of his own clasped hands on the small table in Tann’s office that the four had decided would be an adequate meeting spot. He examined his gloves with a renewed interest when Kesh had decided to stand and rail Addison. The tables had turned ,but still, Tann did nothing. His face remained in that impassive state -

Not enough to reveal a whole lot, but still enough to register that something was amiss. Kandros could read Tann like a datapad.

Kandros sighed quietly as Kesh resumed her seat, an exasperated look on her face. He decided to focus on their conversation. He might as well contribute something today.

“...it doesn’t matter who did what in the end, Addison. We all have had our share of screw-ups, and they’ll keep on happening unless we decide to sit down together and talk.”

“That’s the problem, Kesh! Everytime we talk, we can never agree on anything! On how things should be ran, on what ill-fated expedition we should have next, and it always repeats itself!” Addison’s cheeks were flushed. The slightest shade of red on a human stuck out like a barefaced turian. “Unless we decide to make a decision that somehow works out for all of us, we’re all stuck in a perpetual state of talking, arguing, and blaming! We need to do something different!”

Kandros started chuckling. He quickly stifled it, trying to disguise it as a cough, but to his dismay, Addison picked up on it. She was sharp, for a human.

“What’s amusing to you, Kandros? Is our talk of the bad situations on the Nexus tickling your funny bone?” Addison was getting worked up against him now. He needed to stop this quickly.

Kandros sighed and leaned forward in his chair. “No, that’s not amusing to me.”

“Then I would advise you to indulge us.”

A pause followed the exchange, and Kandros gave a small grunt.

“What I find amusing, Addison, is the fact that you say we need to do something different. All of us have. But we don’t do anything about it.”

Another pause. The other three were looking directly at Kandros now. He stared back at them. He wasn’t going to back down. The silence was broken by Tann, surprisingly.

“It sounds like you might be suggesting something to us, Kandros. In that case, please,” He waved his hand half-heartedly. “Indulge us.” All eyes and ears were on Kandros now. He took a breath.

“The fact is, we’re dying here. We came here 14 months ago, with our own graves already dug for us. Everything that we’ve been doing has been us trying to get out, building our way up, right?” Kandros gestured to the trio sitting down. “We’ve been trying to do what we were supposed to do, set up our colonies, follow our protocols and such, and what’s happened as a result? Two failed outposts, an enemy that keeps on coming, and dwindling resources. The problem is that we keep on doing what we were trained to do.”

He was standing now. Kesh looked semi-interested, Addison looked troubled, and Tann’s face remained blank.  
“I’m not sure I like where this is going, Kandros.” Addison spoke up, and Kandros could see the gears turning. He quickly interjected before she could add anything more.

“Why not? We’ve had an uprising here. We’ve had a good chunk of the Nexus leave or exiled because they didn’t follow what we were doing. But what if things could have worked out differently? If we changed how we do things, if we decided to act like it’s a critical situation - which it is - then we might start thriving. We could start becoming self-sustaining, we could start to do what we set out to do!” Kandros finished excitedly. He looked around, and only saw mixed reactions. Kesh was the first to speak up.

“I agree with you, Kandros, but unfortunately we still have people to take care of. We don’t have resources to sustain high risk, high reward missions, and even if we did, there still is the fact that Eos is covered in radiation. We can’t just fix that by putting ourselves out there. It’s a good idea, being bold,” Kesh added hastily, catching a gaze from Kandros. “But we just don’t have the resources for planetside missions anymore.” Addison looked at Kesh, a half smile on her face.

“I...actually agree with you, Kesh. I’m glad you’re being sens-”  
“Addison, I’m saying I would be right behind Kandros here. We need to be risky to survive here, but we simply can’t. Now now.”

Addison’s smile faded quickly. “Risk isn’t gonna save us, order and settlements, things we can control will.”  
Kandros sighed, his brain working again. How could he just forget the problems of the Nexus like that? Everything was stacked against them. He just got caught up in the moment. If only they had… wait...

Before Addison and Kesh could start fighting again, and before Tann decided to call off the meeting, Kandros spoke up again.

“Maybe we shouldn’t be looking planetside.”

The words had the desired effect. Kesh and Addison both looked at him, Kesh with a brow raised and Addison with her brow furrowed. Even Tann looked interested.

“What do you mean, Kandros?” Tann even gave a smile. “You’re not talking about another exodus again, are you?”  
Kandros stood his ground. “No. I say we look for any signs of the arks. If we devote our resources to sending out signals, trying to find where they are, trying to re-establish communications with them again, then we might be able to expand our resources, expand our efforts and even provide us a home. A dangerous one, and one we’ll have to continuously defend from the Kett, but we’ll still have a home.” It looked like a good message was being sent out, at least to Kandros. He could see a spark of hope. “If it comes down to it, then we could extend a hand to the exiles, even to the krogan that left. If we can all be unified under a single motive, then we will survive.”

Then Tann spoke up. “Kandros, we’ve tried everything. I’m not sure if that’s a viable solution.” Addison looked like she agreed with Tann, and was about to open her mouth once more.

Kandros spoke up again. “We either try harder, or we die.” Silence permeated the room once more. Addison looked shocked that Kandros would say that, but the expression only lasted a moment. Kesh looked solemn, but Tann looked offended.

“We will survive, Kandros. Don’t talk like that. It doesn’t do the Nexus any good if its leaders can’t remain hopeful.”

“It’s true, Tann. All of us know it.” Kandros paused before sighing. “As for hope, I lost that a long time ago. We’re grasping at straws here, and if we don’t act now, then our fate is sealed.” He sat back down, one hand rubbing his eyes. Silence remained the victor in this meeting. Tann stood up.

“We’ll meet in three days. Hopefully, a solution will present itself that is achievable. Until then, let’s keep the Nexus hopeful.” Everyone stood except for Tann. He resumed his datapad perusing. Kandros quickly walked out, a sudden wave of depression overcoming him. He was doing so good, keeping it all under. Now the head of the Initiative knew what he was feeling. He had really gotten himself stuck now. At least, that’s just what it felt like. Wait, someone was calling for him.

“Kandros! Slow down!” Kandros turned to see Kesh jogging towards him. She stopped when she approached. “You need to learn how to listen, I’ve been calling your name since we left Tann’s office.”

Kandros’ mandibles stretched back, resembling a smile. “We walked less than 20 meters, Kesh.”

“And you still didn’t listen! What’s going on Kandros?” Kesh started to look worried. “Look, let’s take a walk for a few minutes. Go down to Hydroponics or something. How’s that sound?” Kandros said nothing. Kesh gave an exasperated sigh. “You don’t have to say anything, but it would just be awkward.” Kandros sighed and nodded his head.

“Hold on a second,” Kandros walked over to the APEX hub and barked, “Sajax! I need you to run things for a few minutes.”

The turian quickly came to attention and saluted Kandros. “You got it, sir!” She immediately took the head of the hologram table as Kesh and Kandros walked down to the tram.

“You shouldn’t have lost your cool like that, Kandros. Now we all know what you’re thinking.” Kesh shot a smile at Kandros, who remained impassive. Kesh sighed again.

“This isn’t gonna work.” She faced Kandros directly, looking him square in the eyes. “Look at me, Tiran. This isn’t the time to be sulking around. It’s gonna get really tough here on the Nexus if you decide to go quiet.” Kandros opened his mouth to speak, but Kesh stopped him.

“I’m not finished yet. Not until I’ve said a few things. First off,” She held up a finger in his face. “You shouldn’t be bottling up your emotions and feelings like this. Then they come out at bad times, and they affect you and your judgement. Which we need. Second,” another finger was raised. “You’re doing everything you can, and it’s good, but we all need to work as a team. You and I share similar goals, but Tann and Addison need to be willing to compromise. I need you on my side if we’re gonna try to convince them to send out search teams and the like. And lastly,” her hand lowered, and her expression softened slightly. As much as a krogan’s can, anyways. “More people need you than you think. Remaining hopeful is vital if we want to survive. You said that you lost your hope? Well, we need it now more than ever. The others won’t admit it, but your idea is the best we’ve had so far. And we need you on board for it. So please, Kandros,” Kesh stepped back. “Just try to remain optimistic. For everyone.”  
Kandros looked back at Kesh and gave a small smile.

“I’ll try. It’s hard, though.”

Kesh sighed. “I know it is.” The two sat down in silence even after they reached Hydroponics. Together, they walked through the small area that remained active to help supply oxygen throughout the Nexus. There were just a couple people here and there in the half-light of the Nexus lights, powered down to preserve energy. The two finally stopped and took a seat on a bench.

“You know, a group of us are going to the Vortex tonight. Addison and I, and a few others that work under us. If you want to, you can bring a couple of your APEX.” Kesh glanced at Kandros, trying to read his expression. She cracked a smile. “Think of it as an ‘beginning of the end’ party.”

Kandros chuckled. “Alright, I’ll come. I’ll bring Sajax along, we’ll see what happens. Also,” Kandros turned to Kesh, pulling a smile. “The end started a long time ago, Kesh.”

“Oh really? When would you say?” Kandros chuckled.

“When did we get here, again?”

That brought a sharp laugh out of Kesh. It was a truly wondrous sound, considering Kesh rarely even cracked a smile. Personally, Kandros thought it was an ugly laugh, but it still made him laugh as well. The two laughed for a moment before getting up. They continued to joke and tease until they reached the tram.

“We’ll see you tonight, right Kandros?”

“You bet your ass you will.” Kandros smiles again.

“Good, cause Addison is the worst drunk I’ve ever seen. She passes out after three drinks, no joke.”

The doors opened all too soon, and the crushing reality set before Kandros started to settle in. He sighed. “I’ll see you later, Kesh.” Kesh nodded and made her way up the stairs, the two parting ways as Kandros made his way back to APEX. Sajax saluted Kandros, and Kandros waved back.

“You know, you don’t have to salute me every time I walk around, Sajax.” Kandros settles at the holo table, putting his hands down and leaning.

“It’s a show of respect, Kandros. You deserve it.” Sajax joined Kandros at his side. “I also have a question for you.”  
Kandros shot a quizzical look. “Go ahead.”

“So, there’s a party tonight, and-“

“Yeah, you can. Kesh invited all of us.” Kandros smiles at Sajax, who looked like she was caught off guard for a second.

She quickly recovered. One of her most admirable traits.

“Oh… wow, you read my mind.” Sajax cracked a quick smile. “That doesn’t excuse today’s work, and I’ll make sure it gets done.”

“That’s what I like to hear. Let’s try to end early tonight, yeah?” Sajax nodded, smiling. A couple other APEX raised their heads to the conversation. Kandros cracked a smile, his eyes glancing around. “Just don’t work too hard, Sajax.”

She smiled. “Could say the same for you, Kandros.” She walked off, lifting her arm and speaking into her omnitool.

The APEX who were listening in resumed their work, although with a renewed vigor. Kandros’ gaze returned to the holotable, which had a map of APEX units around the galaxy. More specifically, Eos. Sighing, he pulled up a flashing dot and read the mission report, his eyes quickly scanning. Already, he could feel his mind wandering. He glanced at his clock again. 0946 hours, galactic standard. A little less than eight hours. Sighing, Kandros granted himself a moment to let his mind wander.

Within the hour, everyone in APEX would know that there was going to be a party in the Vortex that night at 1700, so he didn’t think that he needed to make an announcement. Word somehow got around, even if there was classified information. Kandros quickly learned to not say anything too risky here.

Kandros did hope that this party would make him feel better, if only for the night. Who knows, maybe a quick solution will present itself? Or a very, very long and very tedious solution that would take years to accomplish. Either way, Kandros was hoping for too much. At least, he thought so. He shook his head and forced himself to start reading.

This was going to be a long day.

 

True to his prediction, everyone knew about this party, whether they were invited beforehand or they found out today. It was up to them to decide to go or not. Thankfully, it didn’t look like many were going to attend, and thankfully, that one asari that kept shooting him lustful stares was one of them. The asari, Aiyx, had confirmed to Kandros that he used male pronouns with dealing with other species, and, in the same conversation, detailed how much he would like to rail Kandros over the holotable, among other things. After that, Kandros had politely ended the conversation and tried to keep his distance as best as he could.

On Aiyx’s way out, he had definitely been eyeing Kandros with a rather wistful stare and an extremely provocative gesture, involving his hand tracing his body. Admittedly, Kandros had kept looking, and Aiyx smiled knowingly and walked away with a swing in his step and rocking his hips. Kandros had continued to look, thoughts dashing into his mind.

“Kandros!” A playful punch to the shoulder. Kandros immediately snapped out of his haze and looked at Sajax, who looked at him with a knowing smile. Kandros sighed, while Sajax chuckled. “Looks like you got your eyes on someone, Kandros!”

“Hmph. Is everyone cleared out?” Kandros tried to quickly change the subject.

“Yeah, no one’s left in HQ. Now, how long have you been… looking?” Sajax walked with Kandros, a very playful expression plastering her features. It looked like Sajax was having a lot of fun. Kandros smiled.

“Just that once, I’ll be honest. Aiyx is really suggestive, but he’s just giving me a weird feeling. Like, it feels like he just wants to get in my pants.” Kandros boarded a separate tram with Sajax, to ensure their safety and privacy. “It seems appealing, but maybe I’m just not ready yet.”

Sajax nodded. “Yeah, Aiyx has been looking at _everyone_ at HQ, and it gets a little annoying. I just don’t really want you to fall in that trap. You deserve better, Kandros.” She patted Kandros’ shoulder, and quickly retracted her arm. “Uh, I mean… I’ll help you in any way that I can. Professionally, of course.”

Kandros laughed. “You don’t have to pretend to be my number two outside of HQ. We can be friends, you know. It’s not that crazy of a concept.”

Sajax returned the laugh, albeit a little nervously. “Sorry… I just expect things to go wrong really fast.” She looked at Kandros. “I mean, it’s just a habit. I’d rather not be caught off guard.”

Kandros nodded. “I feel that too. I think everyone does.”

Silence followed them for a moment while the tram traveled to their destination. Sajax broke the silence again.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking... “ She stopped, waiting for approval.

“Go ahead, Sajax. You don’t need my approval right now.”

She sighed, and continued. “I mean this with the most respect, but… I didn’t know you were into, well…” She was clearly blushing, her visible skin gathering a tint of blue.

Kandros smiled. “That I’m into other guys?”

Sajax blushed harder. “Um, yeah. That.”

“Aren’t you dating that one sentinel? What’s her name… Porae?”

Sajax’s blush intensified. “Well, yeah, and her names Porilla, but I just thought you were more of a… what do humans say…” her expression shifted for a second. “I thought you were straight?”

“And here I thought you knew me, Sajax.”

Sajax laughed. She was easing into this conversation. That’s good. She’s too wound up. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I just thought, with…” Sajax stopped, thinking of what to say next. “Well… with those two… I just had a different perception. That’s all.”

Kandros gave her a pat on the back. “Don’t worry about it. I don’t care that much about all of that.”

Sajax seemed visibly relieved, but still wary. Kandros cleared his throat and changed the conversation. He wanted her to relax a little bit, not get more tense.

“I wonder what new drinks they have at the Vortex? Last time, they all tasted like varren shit.”

Sajax laughed, her shoulders relaxing slightly. “I thought it tasted like Eos sand, really.”

The two continued their conversation on the drinks at Vortex as the tram opened, and the two walked and talked to their destination. As their talons clacked against the floor, the dull thumping of music greeted them, and, when the doors opened, Kandros’ jaw actually dropped. And for good reason.

A krogan had decided to become a stripper and was dancing very sensually onstage, and Kandros didn’t know what to think. Until Sajax looked at him and started laughing.

“Spirits, look at your face!” She doubled over, almost wheezing, and Kandros started laughing also. Luckily, the krogan was drunk enough that he didn’t listen or didn’t care that half of his audience was also laughing. Kandros sobered up quickly and guided a still giggling Sajax to the group of combined APEX, Colonial Affairs and Kesh’s people, who Kandros knew kept the Nexus up and running.

“Kandros! Glad you could make it!” Surprisingly, to both Sajax and Kandros, Addison greeted them warmly. “Go on, make yourselves at home, and don’t be a downer!” She trailed off and started babbling over to some of the upkeep workers, who looked like they would rather be elsewhere. Kandros threw a look at Kesh, who had approached. She shook her head.

“Like I said, she’s a bad drunk. She’s had four shots so far.” Kesh chuckled a little. “Still, I’m glad you’re here.”

“Why, cause this party isn’t how you planned it?” Kandros said with a half-smile.

“No, it was going perfectly fine.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “You need to get out more. Take your mind off of things.”

Kandros brushed her off. “I’m fine. And I don’t need someone else, Kesh.” When Kesh looked unconvinced, Kandros sighed and stuck both hands on her shoulders, looking her square in the eyes. “Look, I’m fine. Really. Things just look a little bleak, that’s all.” Kesh sighed.

“Well, at least we have something to drink about.” Her gaze traveled to the stripping krogan. “Oh, for fuck’s sake… DIRG! Get your ass off that stage!” She brushed by Kandros before stopping at his side, and leaning in. “If you ever wanna talk, or anything else, just let me know. Our survival depends on each other, and, dare I say it, I consider you a friend, so if you get fucked up feelings or something, you let me know. And I’ll do everything I can to help. Got it?”

Kandros looked at her for a moment. He noticed that her markings were a slightly fluorescent shade of turquoise. Or cerulean. Or both. Her eyes, though seemingly bare in regular light, stood out like miniature galaxies. Green and yellow ones, at that. Her gaze was in such a way that he had never noticed before. She actually did think of him as a friend.

The feeling was mutual.

“Thanks, Kesh. I’ll remember that.” Kandros’ eyes trailed off to the stage, and a smile crept on his face. “Hate to end this talk, but, uh, your friend is getting a little frisky…”

Kesh turned to see what he was talking about and swore. “Oh, fuck me..” She was moving before she even finished the phrase.

“Who’s ready to see _this_ quad!!!” Kesh quickly ran up to the stage, and Kandros watched with a big grin as the spectacle played out. As Kesh tackled Dirg to the ground, the audience that was once cheering drunkenly now booed the two off the stage, and an asari dancer quickly took his place, which brought the party back to its normal level of drunk dancing. Kandros marveled at the fact that this had all within the space of a minute. He shook his head, laughing.

A voice crept up on him from his left.

“Those krogan are pretty crazy, aren’t they?” The familiar voice stuck in Kandros’ mind. He knew that voice anywhere. The independent tone. The rather bold humour in her voice. The _extremely_ sexy subharmonics. He knew that voice anywhere; it used to drive him wild. Used to.

“Hey, Vetra.” Kandros turned to her. He immediately went to her eyes. They were beautiful. Her markings highlighted her features very nicely. She looked more tired than the last time he saw her. Which was several weeks ago. It had ended in an argument, a rather expensive piece of furniture thrown, and Kandros running out without any of his clothes. Thankfully, no one knew… except for Sajax.

“Didn’t expect to see you around here. Thought you would be holed up in your office.” She leaned against the bar, and Kandros joined her. “It’s nice to see you out.” Kandros grunted and nodded. She scoffed. “Look, I’m just trying to be friendly here, Tiran.”

Kandros looked at her, and sighed. “Sorry. There’s a lot on my mind.” That was a half-lie. Vetra churned some feelings inside of him. Feelings he thought he buried. _Spirits, her voice still does things to me…_

Vetra either didn’t pick up on any of it, or didn’t care, _Or maybe she felt the same way!_ A less rational part of his brain suggested. Either way, she remained indifferent.

“I get it. A lot has been happening lately.” They didn’t talk for a little bit. They just listened to the thumping of the music, the drunk cheering near the stage. They felt the humidity of everyone’s body heat, the slight tang of sweat in the air. Finally, Kandros steeled himself to break the silence.

“Why are you-?”

“I want to burn bridges.”

Vetra had beaten him to the punch. Her statement was much more interesting, and much less rude than Kandros’. He quickly stopped talking and gave her a curious look. “What do you mean?”

“I mean…” She dropped her gaze. “I feel like we’ve been really hostile to each other for no reason other than us breaking up. Which is dumb, because we’ve talked a lot about it, and while we haven’t agreed on a lot of things, we still understand each other. Having us still remain enemies just isn’t fair to either of us.” She took a breath and looked at Kandros again. “The fact is… we work better as a team, not lovers, or enemies, but as a team. I think that’s what will bring us through this whole mess.”

“I… I don’t really know what you’re saying.” Kandros knew what she was saying. He just wanted her to admit it. From the look on her face, Vetra knew it too. She gave a sigh of exasperation.

“What I’m trying to say is that we should be friends, or even just acquaintances. Burn the old bridges, make some new ones or something. Look out for each other.”

Kandros gave a knowing smirk and nodded. “I know, I just wanted you to say it.” Vetra smiled.

“You ass.”

Kandros raised his hands in mock defeat. “Yeah, yeah… But I agree with you.”

Vetra’s eyes widened for a moment and she brought both hands to her mouth in mock shock. “Wow, you actually agree with me on something. I’m impressed.”

Kandros gave a quick bark of laughter. She never backed down from a challenge. “Don’t freak out too much, Vetra.”

The two shared a laugh and they continued watching the club. The asari dancer was now joined by an uncharacteristically skinny turian, who had the skimpiest of underwear covering his rather large (and very visible) slit. The crowd absolutely loved it. But Kandros wasn’t looking at that, or rather, he wasn’t paying attention. His mind started wandering in the lull of conversation. Vetra broke the silence.

“What’s wrong, Kandros?”

The question felt like it came from dark space. Kandros started and looked at Vetra. “What?”

“Something’s obviously wrong. You’re more reserved than usual. Plus,” here, she gave a knowing smile. “You’re not even ogling at those two up there. So tell me what’s up.” Kandros swore silently. Vetra always knew when something was wrong. Maybe it was caring for her sister for her whole life. Whatever the reason, it always made Kandros uncomfortable. It made him feel exposed.

He considered his options. He could try to lie to Vetra, who would undoubtedly see right through him (he was not very good at lying). Alternatively he could tell the truth, and express how pessimistic he was about Andromeda and let all of his worries come out, which was less than ideal. Or, he could straight up leave, go home, and go to sleep, which seemed appealing, but why would he do that? He could talk right here and right now. Or, just continue his internal suffering in silence.

He made up his mind.

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“Bullshit, Tiran.”

_Dammit_. He sighed in exasperation.

Vetra didn’t say anything else, for a moment, at least. “Start anew. Burn the old bridges.”

_What bridge is she talking about here?_ His expression must have told a thousand words, because she gave a tired sigh.

“If we want to help each other, we have to talk. That’s one of the reasons things didn’t work out, and you know it.”

_Ah, yes. Those bridges._ Kandros shook his head.

“Fine. You want the long version or the short one?”

“Whichever you want.”

“Short it is.” Kandros took a breath. “I told the Nexus command that we were all going to die.”

Vetra didn’t say anything else. Her face remained impassive. Kandros took this as a sign to continue.

“Well, not exactly like that. I said that we needed to take a risk or else we would die.”

“Wow. You spoke everyone’s mind.”

Kandros nodded at her. He wasn’t surprised she caught on so fast. She always had the gift of simplifying things. Understanding other people’s pains, their ideas, thoughts and feelings. He let his eyes rest on hers. Those beautiful, sharp eyes. Stop staring, Tiran.

“Yeah, but there was some negative consequences. That brief conversation revealed a lot more about me than I wanted them to know. Now, they think I’m depressed.”

“Well, are you?”

“No. Well, not exactly.”

“Do you feel unmotivated, tired, sad, stuff like that, but all the time?”

“Sometimes. Not often.”

“Then you need to do a couple things. First, talk to people. I know Kesh has probably talked with you, but I’m here too. We’ve all been there, and talking is the best way to fix things.” Kandros nodded, about to conjure a retort, but was stopped by a finger from Vetra. “I’m not done. Secondly, you need to do something. You mentioned a risk?”  
Kandros nodded.

“Then take it. Do something that you think will help you, even if it seems like a longshot. Most often, just the act of doing something can help your mood drastically. I’ll be on board with anything you do, also. Just say the word, and I’ll be there.”

Kandros remained silent for a moment. Vetra returned to her drink in her hand and drained it.

“Thanks.” Kandros said, sincerely. Vetra raised her empty glass.

“We have to help each other out here. Talk more. Burn those bridges, remember?” Kandros nodded his understanding. Vetra smiled. “Now, are you gonna drink something, party it up, and make a complete fool out of yourself, or am I gonna have to do it alone?” Vetra climbed onto a barstool and ordered a Drossix Blue. Within a minute, the bartender returned and gave Vetra her drink.

Kandros thought about it. He _could_ just go home. Sleep, try to forget, and make things better tomorrow. But that wouldn’t be fair to Vetra. She was doing a lot for him. He had to indulge her. Just this once.

“Hell yeah, I’m gonna drink something.” He sat at the bar and ordered the same thing as Vetra. She looked pleased, and Kandros knew he made the right choice.

“Knew you could do it.”

“Oh, shut up.” The bartender returned with the drink, and Kandros grabbed it and swirled it around. “Here’s to burning bridges.” Vetra raised her glass. “...And to this fucked up mess we got ourselves into. May the spirits guide us.”

“I’ll drink to that.” Together, the two turians drained their drinks. After they finished, they ordered more rounds. They started talking and laughing together, and the music seemed to get louder the more they drank.


	2. Chapter 2

“Uggghh…” Kandros mumbled groggily. His head pounded; it felt like a krogan had headbutted him.  _ Actually, that might have happened. _ He brought both hands to his head, rubbing his eyes, trying to let his headache subside somewhat. After a few moments with no progress he opened his eyes, and immediately closed them after the minimal light felt like spotlights. He opened them slowly again, staring up at the ceiling once more. His morning routine, albeit with a little more headaches than was usual. As he studied the ceiling, he noticed something. Something different. Where there was a seam between metal plates, he saw it. 

A crack. Small enough to go unnoticed for a long time. 

He was surprised that he could actually see it, really. Less than two inches, maybe even just one, with one part of the plating hanging lower than the rest, casting a small shadow on the surrounding ceiling plates. Kandros’ best guess was that it came about because of the Scourge, because the alloy that this metal was made out of was heavy, durable and, the most advertised aspect, unbreakable. In all words, it was perfect. 

Kandros smiled and gave a chuckle.  _ Guess it isn’t so perfect after all. _ Then he winced again. His own laughter hurt his damn head. He stared at the ceiling for a couple more minutes before slowly rolling out of his bed, stumbling over to his dresser and pulling out an undersuit and throwing it near his bathroom. Kandros then trudged over to his personal kitchen to try and alleviate his hangover. He scratched his groin plates absentmindedly, then put water in a pan and started to heat it up. He then grabbed several other ingredients in his fridge, readying them to mix. 

This concoction was beyond disgusting, but it sure as hell worked. As long as he didn’t vomit it up after he drank it. Kandros did that before. Several times. Now, he was more used to it. 

_ Ugh… I feel like an alcoholic now _ . Kandros double checked his disgusting ingredients and made his way to the shower, blasting himself with cold water once more. He definitely needed it. After a few minutes he got out, ready to make his hangover-reduction-drink. That also tasted like piss. While he was mixing, his headache still pounding through his body, his omnitool went off. He casually answered it when he heard Kesh on the other line. And she was loud.

“Kandros! Where are you? What are you doing right now?”

Kandros cringed. “Holy shit, Kesh, quiet down please. I have a really bad hango-”

“Kandros, there’s a ship approaching the Nexus.” Kandros froze.

“Kett?”

“It’s an ark. Hyperion.”

Kandros didn’t speak for a moment. He was speechless. Fourteen months of no contact. Then out of nowhere… This was too good to be true. 

“If you’re pulling my leg, I’m gonna fucking kill you, Kesh.”

“I can hardly believe it myself. I thought it was our sensors on the fritz again. Get down to the Commons as soon as you can. They’ll be there within the hour.” Kesh took a breath. “I’m gonna try and reroute the power from the Hyperion core to the Nexus. We won’t have to shut down anymore sections for a long time.” Kandros breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank the spirits.”

“Good luck, Kandros.” Kesh ended the call.

Kandros dropped his arm and ran his hands through his face again. He couldn't think of anything to say. Well, except for one thing.

“Holy fucking shit.”

He quickly shook himself back to the present and finished his drink. He wasn’t about to introduce himself to the human pathfinder while he had a hangover. Luckily for him, the drink would cure most of his hangover in less than an hour.

_ Science is some crazy shit, _ Kandros thought as he quickly downed his energizing drink in less than a minute, which promptly led him to the trash can as he hacked uncontrollably, trying to keep it all down.

“Spirits… never gets less disgusting,” Kandros wiped his mouth, cleaned up his mess and quickly got into his armor. He fumbled with the clasps and straps, his excitement and nervousness making his hands shaky. He stopped, and waited a moment. “Deep breaths… deep breaths…” He closed his eyes and exhaled, and calmly clasped the rest of his armor together, pulling on his gloves last. As he grabbed his personal shield and glanced at his clock out of habit, he stopped and gazed back at his newly found crack in the ceiling. He smiled and, noticing his headache was already subsiding, went through the doorway, his sub vocals humming in anticipation, and headed towards the now-powered down Commons.

 

“I don’t believe it.” Kandros approached the three humans in the derelict side of the Commons. He stopped and simply stared at them for a moment. Two males, one female. They all looked like they’ve been through some shit. The one closest to him approached him, his face void of expression… except for the clenched jaw. He sniffed the air. Did he smell death on him? He shook himself out of his stupor.

“I’m Tiran Kandros. I lead our militia here.” He extended his hand and the human before him took it and shook it. The other two approached. 

“I’m Scott Ryder. This is Cora Harper,” he gestured to the female, who gave a nod, “and Liam Kosta,” the other male gave a small wave. “They’re part of the Pathfinder team.” 

Kandros remained in awe. Here were three humans from an  _ ark _ , right when everything was going bad, they showed up. Kandros looked at the Pathfinder team, who were noticeably smaller than Scott in the middle, who was a foot shorter than Kandros. He would have smiled, but the three looked like they need to sleep another 600 years.

“Sorry that there isn’t some big party or anything, we weren’t expecting you guys. I mean, an ark showed up on our radar, but Heleus has been scrambling our sensors for a long while now.” He waved his hand towards the stacked boxes in the dark lighting. “Sorry it’s all so dark, too. We’ve been powering down major parts of the Nexus every few hours…” He gazed back at the trio, who looked rather confused. 

“We’ve got a shipload of people, and you’re telling me no one was expecting us? Why?” Scott looked more distressed now, and Kandros’ nodded slowly. 

“It’s… you’re the first ark we’ve seen.” All three faces registered shock. Each had a different expression, still. It was interesting to see. Humans were interesting. Kandros cleared his throat.  “After a year of waiting, we decided to take action. Mainly, shutting down non essential areas... and we stopped looking for the arks.” 

Liam decided to talk. “A whole year?” His accent was very different from Scott’s. Kandros noticed that in a few humans. “And no one showed up?”

“Actually, longer. Here, I’ll fill you in on the way to Ops.” He waved the trio over and walked over to the tram, explaining as much as he could. The tram doors closed.

“Fourteen months ago, we hit a band of dark energy that knocked us off course. We call it the Scourge.”

“Yeah, we felt it.” Kandros looked at Ryder, who looked solemn. He took the time to examine his face quickly. Small stubble on his cheeks and chin. Blue eyes. Dark, almost black hair. His eyes had the wrinkles characteristic with smiling a lot, but Ryder also had the crease on his forehead. Kandros hadn’t spent a lot of time around humans to know their emotions except for one in the Milky Way, and  _ her _ , but he knew Ryder wasn’t normally like this. He gazed into his eyes once more, all of his observations happening within seconds. He felt something. Pity? No, it was sympathy. Kandros knew what Ryder was feeling. He was at that point only yesterday. 

“Then you know why we call it the Scourge. It brought down a lot of systems in first contact.” The pitch in his subharmonics rose considerably, and he coughed. “A lot of people died. Good people.” He didn’t say anything for a moment, looking away from them. He cleared his throat. “We had shortened food, water, everything. We started rationing from day one, and it only got worse.”  
“How could that get worse? That seems like rock bottom to me.” Cora finally talked, and Kandros glanced in her direction and gave a half-hearted chuckle.

“Believe me, it did. A rebellion rose up. Armed rebellion. I’ll spare you the details, but by the time we ended it, we exiled the insurgents. We sent them off-Nexus.” 

“Wait, you sent them off the Nexus?” Ryder asked, his face with a new expression of incredulousness. “Habitat 7 was a bust,” Here, Scott paused for a second, seeming to collect himself. A moment of silence passed, with Cora looking at Scott with a worried expression. He finally collected himself. “How do you know that the other worlds were fine?”

Kandros gave him a long look. A lot went on between the stare, and a look of understanding crossed Scott’s face.  _ What happened on Habitat 7? _

“You… didn’t know. Not for sure.” Scott trailed off, and Kandros dropped his gaze. Scott closed his mouth, and Cora and Liam switched their gaze from Kandros to Ryder. 

“We had faith. We gave them shuttles and rations, and other necessaries to survive and make a living. Well, aside from what they took in the uprising, but they had enough. We’ve heard reports that they’ve been making it, but it wouldn’t have been much better for them on the Nexus.” The tram slowed to a stop. No one moved.

“Is everything back to normal?” Cora asked. Kandros’ expression changed drastically. “Well, no, but you’re here now! Maybe the worst is behind us…” He trailed off, but his smile remained. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ryder smile. It wasn’t much, just a small, half-smile, but it was beautiful. It looked natural on him, and he looked better. Pretty, even.

Kandros gulped and looked away.  _ What the fuck are you doing? You just met him. _ He shook himself and continued on. “We haven’t had contact with anyone else, yet.”

“Not even other pathfinders?” Cora’s expression lifted.

“No one, period.”

Liam chimed in. “Any trouble from the Kett?”

“We’ve stayed hidden so far. We can’t afford to lose anyone, or anything else right now.” The doors opened. “We’re here.” He went forward excitedly, hearing footsteps behind him until Liam said something about security and went on his way. He stopped for a moment, composing himself. He checked to see if Cora and Ryder were there, which they were, and continued on.

“You should know, our command structure’s been fractured. Heavily. Some of us are filling in for leaders who have died.” Two other humans ran by, speaking in hushed tones. 

“Is it true?”

“They said drop everything and report for duty.”

As the two ran off, Kandros stopped and turned, giving a half-smile. “... And, no one expected an ark to show up.”

“You’re all smiles, Kandros.” Ryder pointed out, giving his own half-smile in return. Cora gave a sigh, but was smiling also. Kandros noticed she seemed to be tired of Ryder. He vaguely wondered why. 

“Well, yeah. An ark found us! Maybe things will start looking up for us.” Kandros looked between the two. His gaze turned to Ryder, and he noticed his stress in his expression. “All of us.” He added, smiling to him. Ryder gave a smile back, but it was genuine. It was nice. Clearing his throat Kandros turned around and walked into the Ops center, where a bustle of people worked largely in the dark. When the three walked in, all activity stopped as everyone there gave their attention to the newcomers. A salarian walked up slowly.

“Ah, the crew of the Hyperion.” Tann was always good at shielding his emotions, and this case was no exception. All that betrayed him was his tone; pleased. Kandros gave a sigh.

“I’ll return to APEX, Tann. See if we can get things going again.” He turned around, but he gave Ryder a pat on his shoulder. “And, good luck, Ryder.” He walked off, not turning around until the door closed. Before they did, however, he heard Kesh defending Ryder. He smiled and walked down the stairs. He couldn’t stop thinking about the ark. 

More specifically, Ryder. That man had a thousands stories behind his eyes, and Kandros wanted to know him better. He shook himself. He shouldn’t act like that. This little infatuation, if he even wanted to call it that, was just from the hope the Hyperion had brought. After a week, then Kandros would try a little bit harder. As he approached APEX, all the lights turned on. Systematically, the entire station went online. Kandros smiled as he heard cheers. He approached his ‘office’ with a renewed vigor. Things would get better. 

 

Kandros’ drive only lasted for so long before his mind started wandering and he fell into his state of tired working. It didn’t take long until his mind wandered to Ryder. 

_ Spirits, _ Kandros mentally shook himself. Why was Ryder the thing he decided to focus on now? He decided to dwell on his troubles instead of pushing them aside. Maybe the answer would present itself.

For one, Ryder had instilled Kandros’ hope. No doubt he would hear about that from the Nexus leadership. Then there was his attitude. Kandros could feel that Ryder cared deeply for everyone he had responsibility for. Kandros admired that. Then his mind wandered to his scent. Spirits, that wonderful scent. It smelt like a Palaveni ocean, the flowers outside of his old apartment on the Citadel. He found himself inhaling deeply just thinking about it.  _ Stop it. _ He told himself. But he couldn’t.

Ryder was also so  _ interesting. _ From the small period of time that he had talked with him, Kandros had a million questions spring up in his mind. Why did it smell like he died recently? What happened on Habitat 7? And, most importantly, why did he look so amazing?

Kandros hummed with content. Just thinking about him made him happy. He stood there for a moment, letting his thoughts get the better of him.  _ If I’m gonna have a crush on him, I might as well indulge myself. _ Kandros decided to settle with letting his mind wander every now and then in an attempt to reinvigorate himself, focus on the task at  hand.

Which wasn’t easy, seeing as how Ryder himself started descending the stairs. 

His heart skipped a beat and his mandibles fluttered quickly for a second.  _ Shit.  _ He glanced around quickly. No one seemed to see his reaction. He returned his gaze to the terminal in front of him, hoping to appear nonchalant. Ryder strode up to him, and Kandros turned, feigning his surprise at Ryder’s arrival. Kandros was about to wave when he saw the look on his face.

“I know that look. The others bent your ear, did they?” He folded his arms, gazing into Ryder’s eyes. He could control himself right now.  _ No funny business, Kandros. Keep it professional. He doesn’t even know you. Yet. _

“Yeah, something like that.” Ryder shrugged it off with a partial smile, and Kandros gave a quick laugh. Ryder followed suit, and Kandros noticed his laugh was wonderful. Good sounds combined with his happy face. That made Kandros happy. He shook himself mentally.

“You get used to it. Just…” He quickly thought about his next words. What was he going to say? “Just focus on being a Pathfinder.” Ryder’s expression changed slightly. Kandros cursed himself silently for not knowing too much about humans, but he would say that Ryder’s expression softened. “They can’t argue with results… But they’ll try.” Ryder didn’t speak after that. Kandros cleared his throat, his subvocals beginning to hum. He also felt himself blushing, and he willed himself to stop.

“Uh… anyways, welcome to militia HQ.” He gave a quick gesture to the smaller space. A few strategic coordinators nearby waved. Ryder waved back. “Also, excuse the mess. We weren’t expecting visitors…” Kandros chuckled a little, glancing at Ryder, who not only remained impassive, but was attentive. Kandros felt like he was in spotlight. His subvocals hummed louder and his neck felt hotter.

_ You’re not keeping your cool, Kandros!!! _ He cleared his throat again and adopted a (hopefully) more professional tone. “This office leads militia work, Nexus security, and looking for the turian ark.” His voice caught on the last part, and he cursed silently. It didn’t seem like Ryder noticed.

“Speaking of that, any word on them yet?” Ryder asked, folding his arms, a serious expression on his face. 

Kandros gave a quick shrug. “Only scattered readings. They give us a wild idea of what happened. Some say the Natanus was destroyed, others that people are alive, and others that it hasn’t arrived yet…” Kandros’ voice caught again. Ryder definitely noticed that time, because his brow loosened, his body became more relaxed. Kandros finished quickly. “...Who knows?”

Ryder stepped closer, and Kandros was suddenly aware of how close they were. “We’ll find them, Kandros. Just don’t give up.” His voice was surprisingly tender, and his smile was genuine. 

“Thanks, Ryder.” Kandros gave a quick cough, and Ryder patted his shoulder. Kandros’ heart rate spiked quickly.

“We look out for each other. That’s how it’s gonna be.” 

The two didn’t talk for a moment, and Kandros studied Ryder. His infatuation was fading slowly, but something about Ryder remained. Kandros sized him up. His eyes were a stunning color, a mix of the blue he saw earlier tinged with green on the inside. His hair was black, but was tipped with blue at one point, maybe before the expedition? His skin was fair, not as dark as other humans he had met, but darker than Addison’s, that’s for sure. Kandros’ eyes trailed over his lips. They seemed thinner than normal, but they looked healthy. His eyes lowered to his frame and he took in Ryder’s body. A shapely form, it looked like he kept himself in excellent shape. Thin, lean, and muscled. He liked it.

But as he looked over Ryder in that short span of a couple seconds, he realized Ryder was doing the same thing. Sizing him up.

Kandros ended the quick silence. “Anyways, if you need anything, come and see me. Even if it’s just to vent.” Ryder gave a nod and made to walk away, which calmed Kandros down slightly. Except Ryder didn’t go. 

“Actually, I think I’d like to talk to you for a little bit. If you have time, that is.” Ryder gave his good smile again, and Kandros gave a quick smile back. He hoped it looked friendly.

“Yeah! Yeah, I have a lot of time on my hands here. Not too much happens in Andromeda… yet.” That elicited a laugh out of Ryder, and Kandros silently praised himself. 

Ryder looked like he was about to talk, but Kandros talked first. 

“There’s just one thing that I want to ask first, before you ask all you want about me,” Kandros took a breath. “What… what happened on Habitat 7?”

Ryder’s face fell immediately, and Kandros mentally punched himself.

“Uh… well… I was made the human Pathfinder after my father, Alec Ryder, died saving my life.” Kandros didn’t speak for a minute, and neither did Ryder. He took a shaky breath. “It’s still fresh, and I don’t really know exactly how to feel, or even what to feel.”

Kandros lifted his arm and put it on Ryder’s shoulder. “I’m sorry. I… I really am, Scott.” Ryder looked into Kandros’ eyes. He wiped his face.

“Yeah, well, the old bastard just couldn’t let me die…” Ryder attempted to smile.

“If you don’t want to talk about it now… I won’t force you. Take your time. And, like I said, I’m always here.” Kandros realized his hand was still on Ryder’s shoulder and he slowly took it off.

Ryder smiled at Kandros. “Thank you… Really. I’ll… probably come to terms with it sooner rather than later.” There was a silence as Ryder wiped his eyes. “God, I’m finally feeling it… Anyways…” Ryder straightened himself up, looking like he was focusing himself. Kandros admired that.  _ Heavily _ . “Uh, why did you come to Andromeda, Kandros?” 

Kandros smiled. “Get comfortable, you’re about to hear my  _ entire _ life story.”

“Bring it on.” Kanros laughed.

 

Hours later, Kandros was still humming happily as he typed reports, checked in on teams, and devised new missions for APEX to go on. That conversation he had with Ryder had really helped him out. In more ways than one. 

First off, Kandros had gotten over his quick infatuation with him. Not in a bad way, though. Kandros realized that, while Ryder was rather pretty, and he had an excellent personality, Kandros did realize that he had just met Ryder, and that the two would not be spending a lot of time with each other. However, he also realized (very quickly) that he wanted Ryder as a friend. 

Secondly, Ryder had already committed to helping him, and Kandros would be damned if he didn’t try his hardest to reciprocate. Ryder had already taken some stress off of his shoulders, and he was grateful.

Finally, Kandros felt better. About everything. That conversation was enlightening, because Kandros finally felt like he could trust someone new, someone who would get things done. And that helped his mood immensely. 

In short, he was glad that Ryder was here. 

After the conversation, Kandros had pulled up his omnitool and typed out a message to Vetra.

// _ Secure communication established. Welcome, Tiran Kandros.  _

_ Codename: APEXPredator. _

To:  _ Vetra Nyx. Username: Nyx_Nax  _

Vetra, you got a Pathfinder your way. Be prepared, he’s determined.

_ Message Sent.  _ //

Kandros gave a quiet laugh at their names. Both inside jokes. He would be damned if he changed his name now.

_ Ping. _

Kandros checked his omnitool.

//To:  _ APEXPredator _

Thanks for the heads-up. How’s the power treating you over there? //

//To:  _ Nyx_Nax _

It’s nice. Makes things easier. //

She didn’t answer for a moment.

//To:  _ APEXPredator _

How are you feeling? //

//Hangover or feelings? //

//Both. //

Kandros breathed deeply.  _ Burning bridges. _

//I think Ryder helped my mood immensely. We’ll see though. As for the hangover, I’m still feeling it. //

//Sucks to be u. Shoulda drank more water when I offered. //

//You were offering? //

//Oh yeah, you were passed out drunk basically.

Ryder’s here. Gtg I’ll stay in touch. //

// _ Secure connection terminated. Logging you off, APEXPredator.  _ //

Kandros saved that conversation. It was nice to be on good terms with someone again. Kandros went back to work, counting two more hours before the HQ closed up. He hummed happily. For the first time in a long time, he was excited about the future.

Five Days Later…

Kandros sat at a holotable, which was deactivated, enjoying his lunch with Sajax and a couple other Militia commanders. He looked down his sandwich and sighed. If he wanted to call it a sandwich, that is. Two slices of a Palaveni bread with a slice of cheese and meat was hardly fulfilling. As he stared at his meager lunch, conversation around him blurring into mumbles and indistinct noises, his mind wandered to Ryder.

Vetra had been giving him updates on the mission at hand, which was trying to figure out what was wrong with Eos. According to Vetra, Ryder had found something on Habitat 7 that completely changed the game. However, with each passing day, with Vetra’s messages showing no sign of progress besides killing more Kett, Kandros grew less and less optimistic. Things weren’t looking so good anymore, right when everyone needed it most.

_ Spirits, I hope he finds something for us soon. _

He didn’t have to wait long.

Ryder surprised him no more than three minutes later, surrounded by people from Tann’s, Addison’s and Kesh’s offices. Kandros looked up and gave a wave, and continued to finish his drink. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ryder brush off his small fanbase.He said something that made all of his company disperse rather quickly, and Ryder began to make his way towards Kandros. Kandros hastily finished his drink (an energy drink) and rose, greeting Ryder. 

“Hey, Kandros,” Ryder shook Kandros’ hand, giving a small smile. Kandros noticed a few things different about him. His hair looked lighter, his skin was darker, he had a few scratches and bruises on his arms and face, and his attire was different. He was currently wearing a “Blasto” tank top. Kandros smiled. 

“Hey, Ryder. Nice shirt.” Kandros gave a laugh.

“You like it? Believe it or not, that’s the first compliment I’ve gotten on it all day.” Ryder pulled out his shirt, dusting off an imaginary piece of dust, which elicited another chuckle from Kandros. 

“Really? With fashion like that, I’m surprised.” Ryder gave a good laugh, the sound making Kandros beam with happiness. Ryder’s laugh eventually died, and he looked at Kandros expectantly. Kandros cleared his throat.

“So, how was Eos? Still clearing radiation from your suit?”

“Ah, it was fine. Well, besides us finding a Remnant structure and activating it.”

Kandros started. “Wait, you found one? What did it do?”

Ryder gave a smaller smile. “Well, long story short, we found the structure, which had a similar design like that one we found on Habitat 7, and we activated it. It turns out, there’s this network of structures on all of the golden worlds that have terraforming capabilities.”

“Wait, terraforming?”

“Yeah, but we didn’t fully activate it. Just enough to clear up the atmosphere, which is what it’s doing right now. SAM estimates that in a week or two, most of the radiation will be cleared up, and we can explore the rest of Eos.”

Ryder finished with a small show of shaking his hands around, which Kandros assumed to be a sort of ‘ta-da’ moment. But Kandros was impressed.

“Holy shit, Ryder.”

Ryder gave a bark of laughter. “Wow, I didn’t think you had it in you to swear!” Ryder punched Kandros’ shoulder in a friendly way. Kandros feigned offense.

“What? How could you  _ ever _ think of me like that?” Kandros couldn’t keep a straight face, though, and was laughing before he finished the sentence. The two stood there, laughing for a minute, before calming down enough. Kandros noticed Ryder’s suspiciously impassive face.

“Wait, did you talk with Addison already? Or any of them?” Ryder’s silence was Kandros’ answer. “Dammit. They don’t like to be optimistic over these things, even though they talk about a ‘better future.’” Ryder nodded.

“It’s just… I wished they just at least acknowledged a little bit of my actions. I mean, seriously!” Here, Ryder started getting frustrated. “I told Addison we were on the same side and she told me ‘I wouldn’t go that far.’ Like, seriously!” Ryder threw up his arms in exasperation. “God damn… I’m sorry, Kandros, it’s been a really crazy week for me.”

“I understand. You’ve been through a lot. In fact, you should probably take a break or something. You’ve done a lot.”

“The thing is, I can’t. People are depending on me. I can’t just leave them like this.” Ryder gave a weak smile. Kandros gripped Ryder’s arm reassuringly. Ryder dropped his gaze.

“Well, I think you should take a break. I also think that you have done an amazing thing, and you’ve given these people a lot - including hope. That’s me, included, by the way.” Ryder looked up at Kandros for a moment, studying his face. Kandros stared back. His eyes were so beautiful. 

“Like I said, if you ever want to talk, let me know. Even for venting, because that’s obviously been good for you already.” Kandros chuckled. “Just let me know.”

Ryder looked lost in thought for a moment. “I see Vetra messaging you about me all the time-”

“Wait, you do?”

“-and while I think that’s real nice and all, but maybe we should talk to each other, instead of through Vetra.” Ryder finished off with a shrug, attempting at seeming neutral about it.

“I like it. It’d give us a chance to talk more, considering we’ll be at different ends of the cluster.” Kandros thought about it. “Strictly professional, though.” He quickly added.

Ryder nodded quickly. “Yes, yes, of course. Only professional.”

“In that case, I, Tiran Kandros, hereby give you full permission to…” He snickered. “To message me about  _ any _ and  _ all _ matters of important discussion.” He finished off laughing, and Ryder’s face made him laugh harder.

“Kandros, what the hell are you laughing for?” 

“It’s just…”  _ Wheeze. _ “The last time I had a ‘professional’ talk with someone, it ended in… oh spirits… “ Kandros could barely choke out the rest of his words. “...it was an accidental dick-pic…” Kandros laughed again, his subharmonics trilling. Ryder started laughing.

“Ok, hold on. You have to explain this to me now.”

Kandros finally calmed down enough to take in a deep breath. “OK, so, I’m talking with a militia coordinator, and we’re talking business. Later that night, I get a message from him and it’s a fucking dick pic! Mind you, his dick was  _ big _ , but I messaged him back, and it was totally an accident! Ever since then, I keep bringing it up, but I’ve never seen a salarian go that red before!” Now Ryder was laughing too, and the two laughed together once more. 

Their conversation didn’t end there, but was rather spurred on, and soon the two were exchanging embarrassing stories with each other like they had been friends from birth. When Ryder finally had to leave, Kandros quickly transferred his information over, so that they could talk more. As Ryder said his goodbyes, and left, Kandros found himself wishing he could talk more. But alas, an hour had already gone by, and Kandros had several reports he had to finish. Before he went back to work, a message pinged his omnitool. He quickly checked it.

// _ Message from Lt. Sajax, Username: ITS-SAI_AXE _

So, you’re going after Ryder, huh? ;) //

Kandros snorted and, ignoring the message, set back to work, Sajax looking at him from across the room, smirking.

Over by the tram, Ryder broke his gaze from Kandros and descended down the stairs.

 

Kandros chatted with Ryder intermittently over the next few weeks as Ryder did his Pathfinding. Sometimes, it was hard to coordinate a time to talk, because APEX was gaining a heavy momentum relating directly to Ryder’s success on Eos. About a week after they talked, Ryder called Kandros, explaining that Eos had a new outpost.

“Ryder, that’s amazing!”

“Don’t thank me yet, I centered it’s main focus on being a scientific outpost.”

“Well, that’s fine. You said you eliminated that one Kett bastard? What was his name, the Inquisitor?”

Ryder had given a mirthful laugh. “Invictor, but close enough. The crew made fun of him so much because he would constantly send out a broadcast that always, without fail, started with “I am the Invictor! Blah blah, blargh,” Here, Ryder had raised his hands and formed them into claws, mimicking how someone would do it to scare a kid. 

Kandros hadn’t seen Ryder that happy ever since the Hyperion docked. Then again, he hadn’t seen Ryder all that much. Still, it made Kandros happy. Ryder had been through enough shit already, and the majority of the Nexus leadership wasn’t making it easier on him. Tann and Addison really like criticizing him, and Kesh switched things up, depending on what Ryder decided to destroy or bring to the Nexus. No matter what, though, Kandros thought that Ryder needed this boost. It would help him out in the long run.

The next time he heard from Ryder was a rather panicked call.

“Hey Ryder!”

“Kandros, get the Leadership together. I found an alien race.”

Kandros spit out his coffee that he had been drinking. “What?”

“Please! They’re mostly friendly, but their translators were already equipped for us. Which means that they’ve met the exiles already. Plus, they want to talk with you all. Look, I can’t talk long, but I’m just gonna route their communications over to you.” Kandros had already messaged Addison and Kesh to meet in Tann’s office immediately and had walked in. “They’re called the Angara, and their translators make them have really awesome accents, but they’ve been fighting the Kett for a long time now. Try and use that as a common ground to create peace, if possible.”

“Ryder, it’s OK, you don’t need to stress about it.” Kandros had motioned for Tann to follow him, who was quickly joined by Kesh and Addison, all who had confused looks.

“Sorry, this is just so big! I’m going to tour their capital now, but good luck. Ryder out.”

Ryder ended the call, but not without sending a foreign communications invite to Kandros’ omnitool. 

“Kandros, what is going on?” Addison demanded.

“Ryder found an alien race. They’ve been fighting the Kett, and we’re about to have a chat with them.” Leaving the three with incredulous looks on their faces, Kandros opened up the file, transferred it to a communications screen, and was met with series of unfamiliar letters and texts.

“What the hell…” Tann whispered before an image cleared up and an alien stood before them, with a couple more behind the one in front.

The one in front, who had a big scar on the right side of his face and looked like the leader, spoke a couple unintelligible words. After a moment, he brought up a wrist that opened an interface staggeringly similar to an omnitool and selected a few interfaces. He spoke again.

“Do you understand me?”

Tann spoke first. “Loud and clear.”

“Good. Now, state who you are and why you are here.”

Kandros interjected before Tann could reply to the less-than-friendly alien. “Remember, we’re the aliens here, Tann.” Kandros cleared his throat. “We are part of a group called the Andromeda Initiative. We came from a galaxy called the Milky Way, and we’re in search of a new home. Could you tell us who you are?”

The alien turned and spoke with a few of his associates before turning once more. 

“I am Efvra de Tershaav, leader of the Resistance on Aya. Your Pathfinder said we have a common enemy. We will consider talking in the coming days. We will stay in touch.” Efvra ended the call just as quickly as it started.

No one talked for a moment. Then Addison spoke up.

“We’re having talks with a grumpy alien race.”

Kesh chuckled. “Over the kett? I’ll take it any day.”

Tann spoke to Kandros. “He mentioned Ryder. Did he purposefully land here?”

“I don’t know. He didn’t tell me anything besides the fact that they wanted to talk.”

Tann gave a sigh. “The next time you two talk, try to get something out of it.”

“He’ll probably be back within a week or two. You could ask him then.” 

_ Ping. _

All four of them looked towards Tann’s desk. A holo of the Heleus cluster popped up, with a new planet.  _ Aya. _ All four of them looked at each other and Tann opened it up. Along with the new planet, there was a message.

_ You’re welcome. -Ryder _

 

Ryder tried to chat as much as he could, but Kandros knew he was busy. Hell, the Nexus was more alive than ever. With Ryder’s new discovery, three new worlds had been opened up to the Initiative. Voeld, Havarl and Aya. As well as a new allie. Ryder was attempting to get in Efvra’s good graces, who was apparently not too friendly towards outsiders. Kandros was glad, though. He finally had something to do. He had already met with dozens of angaran strategists, all who had a far greater knowledge about the kett than he did. Kandros happily made friends with them all, exchanging military strategies, ideas, and even idle chatter. It turns out, the angara were an extremely friendly species, once they were trusting enough. 

All of this had happened throughout three days after the discovery, and after another four, Kandros was seeing progress like no other. Angaran Resistance troopers had been skillfully integrated into APEX personnel, and they were damn good. Casualty rates had been falling, while success rates had skyrocketed. Finally, for the first time in almost sixteen months, Kandros felt like the Nexus had finally had a good foothold in Heleus. Whatever Ryder was doing with the angara, Kandros wanted him to continue. 

Resources were coming in from Eos, and the more Ryder explored, the more materials became known and available to the Nexus. Now, they didn’t need to reroute power from the Hyperion; Ryder had found massive stores of helium and eezo all over the cluster. For once, Kandros felt content with what he was doing.

Every now and then, Vetra would message Kandros, with updates about the crew, the mission or even just to chat. Every time she messaged, it felt like Kandros and Vetra were growing closer as friends. That, coupled with Ryder’s growing friendship with Kandros, was enough to brighten up his mood. 

After another week of the uplifted spirits on the Nexus, Ryder sent him a message. Eighteen days since they had talked last.

//To:  _ APEXPredator _

We’re coming back. The angara support us. I had to make a choice. We’ll talk about it more. Sorry for being vague. It’s a lot to take in for me. //

//To:  _ Path-Founded _

Sounds good. You know where to find me. //

Kandros powered down his omnitool, his brow plates knitted together.  _ Something’s off. He didn’t seem alright. _ Kandros quickly sent a message to Vetra.

//To:  _ Nyx_Nax _

Ryder just messaged me. He was vague, but something was up. What happened on Voeld?//

A moment passed before a  _ ping _ .

//To:  _ APEXPredator _

He made a tough choice. It’s really affected him. Anagaran squadmate Jaal isn’t happy. Try to make him feel better, please? I’ve tried everything here. //

//To:  _ Nyx_Nax _

I can’t make any promises that he’ll feel better, but I’ll try my hardest. //

//Thanks, Tiran.//

Kandros shut down the messages and sighed. Not in a bad way, of course. He was worried for Ryder.

 

About an hour passed before Ryder strode up the steps. Luckily for Kandros, he was sitting in a position that gave him eyes on the entire Ops center. Kandros immediately stood and walked over to Ryder, who gave a weak smile. 

“Kandros, I-”

Kandros talked over him. “We won’t talk here.” Ryder looked a little hurt and Kandros quickly added, “It’s too open, too many people will listen. I have a feeling you’re just going to want to talk with me. Alone.”

Ryder gave a quick nod. Kandros took his silence as an opportunity to quickly study him. His brow was furrowed, there were bags under his eyes, and he was paler than normal. Kandros clicked his mandibles. 

“Here, lets get something to eat. I know of a good place that does turian and human food down on the arm.” Kandros gestured to the tram, an expectant look on his face. “I know of a pretty private place we can go after we get our food, too.” Ryder nodded and led the way, and Kandros quickly called to Sajax. 

“I’m going out for a bit. Run things until I get back, alright?”

“You got it Kandros. Don’t have too much fun!” Sajax laughed and Kandros shook his head, a smile on his face. Well, a turian smile. He followed Ryder to the tram and selected their destination. For a moment, the two stood in silence. Ryder had one arm on his elbow, and he was staring at the ground. Kandros glanced over at him. He gulped and spoke.

“What happened on Voeld?”

Ryder drew a shaky breath and started slowly. “I’ll… I’ll try to keep it short.” He straightened up as the tram drew to a halt, and then the two walked out. “And, for future reference, I don’t care if people hear what I say. They deserve to know… what I did.” Kandros looked over at Ryder, who put a hand up and scratched his neck. 

“On Voeld, there’s a heavy kett presence. The angara are fighting them back because it used to be a bustling center for them. We quickly shut down the kett presence in a smaller area, which helped, but they wanted to go for the head. They searched the kett building we had liberated for a week, scouring data and stuff, and then they found the way in. To the main stronghold.” The two arrived at their destination, which wasn’t too busy at the moment. Ryder quickly ordered something called a “hamburger” and Kandros ordered his favorite - a rib plate from a rather dangerous animal on Palaven. As they waited for their food, Ryder took a deep breath and continued, his voice steady.

“We, that is Jaal and Vetra and a few angaran specialists, made it through the shields with SAM’s help, and we began searching for the Moshae.”

“The Moshae? Who’s that?”

Ryder gave a quick grimace. “Right, I forgot to mention that. She’s basically an important figure in angaran culture, and she’s very smart. She knows about the Vaults and how to ‘fix’ Heleus. The kett had captured her and were keeping her in the stronghold. That was another reason the angara wanted to go there.”

“Makes sense. Oh, wait, our food’s here.” Kandros quickly paid for the two meals (much to Ryder’s protests) and he motioned for Ryder to follow him.  _ Thank the Spirits for takeout. _

As the two walked to a nearby park, once empty but now bustling with blooming plants and scattered people here and there, Kandros asked, “You can continue, if you want.”

“I’ve told you this much, I’m finishing.” Ryder looked defiant. For a moment, he looked like his old self, but that quickly fell away. He cleared his throat as the two sat in a shaded and private area. “As we patrolled the building, we saw a… lot of things.” Here, Ryder’s voice caught. Kandros paused his unwrapping of his food and he looked at Ryder. His eyes were focused on his parcel, still in his hands. “Um, we saw how… how the kett were made.” Kandros leaned forward.

“What?”

“They… they take this formula or something, and then, they inject it into a host. In this case, it was an angara. And it, well… it changes them. It doesn’t help that the kett kidnaps their subjects and brainwashes them to their own beliefs, first. We found hundreds, thousands of angara in stasis pods. But, we had a mission.” Ryder gulped and glanced at Kandros. Kandros noticed his eyes were growing slightly red.

“When we finally found the Moshae, she was about to be… converted. Jaal was  _ pissed _ ,” Ryder gave a weak laugh. “And we attacked. She was weak, so we escorted her out of there. To the roofs. We fight through waves of kett, finishing off one of the Archon’s goons, the Cardinal. By the way, the Archon is the leader of the kett.” Kandros nodded and took a bite.

Ryder drew a shaky breath, and his voice started quivering. “At this point, SAM notifies me that he was able to use a defect that he found in the shields to overload systems and destroy the base. However, the Cardinal told us that if we didn’t destroy the base, then the angara would be released. I had to make a choice.” His voice cracked and Ryder looked away. 

“We saw these things, Kandros. They take what they want and only give pain and death and destruction. If we didn’t…” Ryder’s face shined as a tear fell down his face. He looked at Kandros, his eyes welling up, and Kandros face softened. He put an arm around Ryder.

“I had to destroy it, Kandros… it would be a serious blow for them, but… the angara…  _ I killed them. _ ” Kandros cleared his throat.

“Ryder, you didn’t kill them.”

“Yes, I did! I made that choice! I decided what their fates would be!” Ryder immediately perked up, raising his voice. “I had to make them die, so that the kett wouldn’t use them! So that the kett wouldn’t have an advantage! I had to, Kandros, I had to let them die…” Ryder broke down and started sobbing, and Kandros instinctively pulled him close in a hug. Ryder cried into Kandros shoulder for a few minutes, gripping Kandro’s back tightly, and Kandros idly rubbed his back with his talons. He didn’t say anything until Ryder’s sobs turned into periodic sniffs. 

“Look at me, Ryder.” Ryder looked up, his eyes bloodshot. “It’s not your fault. The kett are evil monsters, and they would have given those angara a worse fate.”

“But I still killed them…”

“No, you didn’t. You said that they were brainwashed, right?” A nod. “The Moshae also said to destroy the base, right?” Another nod. “It sounds like their fate was already sealed by the time you got there. What you did do, Ryder, is make an incredibly difficult choice.” Kandros’ hands  moved to Ryder’s shoulders, and he gripped them reassuringly. “We all have to make them, and they always stick with us.” Ryder didn’t break eye contact with Kandros. “I mean… I’ve woken up in nervous wrecks, I’ve been crippled by the feelings of guilt I’ve had, but what matters is that we know we did the right thing. The best choice, with the best possible outcome.”

“How do I know if it’s the best?”

“You stopped the kett from advancing on Voeld. That’s already a positive outcome. Who knows, maybe the kett will stop and roll over now!” Ryder’s expression didn’t change, so Kandros continued. “What I’m saying is that these choices suck. But they’ll have a positive outcome, because you did what  _ you _ thought was right. Sometimes, our choices take time to have an impact on anything, and they’ll have goods and bads, but that’s with every choice. Those angara might not have been able to assimilate back into angaran culture, and they might have turned on their own. But you made a choice, and that choice will have good consequences.”

Ryder took a deep breath. “Yeah… I know… It just, sucks. A lot.”

“Yeah, they do. But we’ll have to focus on the future now. What you did was good. Even if you don’t feel like it.” Ryder looked like he was about to protest, so Kandros hastily added, “When I say good, I mean it was the best choice. And good things will come from it. Let’s just focus on kicking the Archon’s ass now. He’s the reason why all of this is happening.”

Ryder nodded, gaining resolution. “Yeah… when we get to him, I’m going to personally fuck him up.” Kandros smiled. 

“Good. Use that. It’ll motivate you.”

Ryder looked at Kandros. “I’ll avenge them, Kandros. I’ll make sure the Archon suffers.”

Kandros gave a quick nod. “Just remember who and what you’re fighting for. That makes the difference.” Ryder relaxed slightly in his seat, but he still was shaky. A thought suddenly sprung into Kandros’ mind, and he debated whether he should say it. Something inside him urged him forward, though.

“I think you should take a week off.”

Ryder whipped his head to look at Kandros. “What do you mean?”

“You have to take care of your mind and body. Right now, your mind is gonna be, well, messed up, and you’re gonna need to take care of it.” Kandros exhaled. “I’ll help as much as I can, too.” Ryder thought a moment, and sighed.

“Yeah… yeah, I should. You’re right.” His omnitool buzzed, and Ryder groaned. “Now I get to tell Tann what happened.”

“It’ll be fine, Ryder. If you need me, you know where to find me.” The two stood up, and Kandros went for a handshake, but was pleasantly (and happily) surprised with a hug from Ryder. 

“Thanks, Kandros. You really did help.” Kandros awkwardly returned the hug, his mind reeling.

“You’re welcome, Ryder.” Ryder broke the hug and headed for a tram, leaving Kandros with his thoughts. Kandros’ mind was going a million miles an hour, his thoughts jumbling into blurs, spurred on by the touch of Ryder’s body, his scent, his eyes. The way Ryder spoke to him, the way he looked at him, but one thought materialized above the rest. 

“Spirits, Scott, I think I’m falling for you.”


	3. Chapter 3

As Kandros continued working on his reports later that day, he couldn’t stop thinking about their talk. And the aftermath. Kandros knew Ryder was holding back some emotions, but Voeld had scarred him really bad. Afterwards, Kandros had messaged Vetra, recommending a couple of therapists and telling her what had happened. She had thanked Kandros, and went to work to help him out. Ryder’s best interests were in his mind, and he desperately wanted for him to be happy. Spirits knew how much he needed it, how much he deserved it.

But right now, Kandros had dug himself into a hole. He liked Ryder. A lot.

His mind kept wandering to Ryder, and Kandros was constantly losing focus.  _ Stop it. It’s just an infatuation. _ At least, that’s what he kept telling himself. As each day of the week passed, Ryder kept visiting Kandros, and they would talk, and Ryder would leave and Kandros would go back to work. And the more Kandros visited with Ryder, the more he realized that this wasn’t an infatuation. He was slowly falling for Scott Ryder, and there was nothing he could do about it.

On the sixth day of Ryder’s week off, he was joking, smiling and was generally happy. Kandros couldn’t help but smiling too.  _ Maybe he’s been able to cope with it. _ Then Ryder addressed it.

“Kandros, I wanna thank you. If you didn’t say those things first, I don’t think I would be able to have, well, coped with any of this if it wasn’t for…. You.” Kandros was speechless. Ryder smiled happily. “So, thank you. For being there to vent, for listening to me talk about all this random shit, and for being supportive.” Ryder stuck out his hand, and Kandros shook it. Then Ryder was off, and Kandros was alone again. With the feeling of Ryder’s touch on his hand. That was when Kandros finally accepted his crush on Ryder. 

It didn’t help that Sajax obviously knew it.

“You do have a thing for Ryder, don’t you?” Kandros said nothing, which Sajax took for a yes. “You totally do! I like you two together.” Sajax leaned against the holotable that Kandros was working at, a big fat smirk on her face. 

“No, we’re not Sajax. I don’t even know if he likes me…” He didn’t know what he  was saying until he already said it. Sajax’s jaw dropped. 

“Wait, you actually do?”

He had dug himself into this hole. “Well… yes. I do.”

“Damn… well, Kandros, if you want help with... anything, let me know. I’ll help out best I can.” Kandros looked over at Sajax, a brow plate raised.

“Really?”

“Yeah. You deserve someone good. I think Ryder’s good for you.” The stood in a semi-awkward silence.

“Thanks, Sajax. I mean it.”

“No problem.” Sajax returned to her station. In the back of the room, the asari, Aiyx, looked a little upset and returned to his work. He was obviously listening in on the last two conversations. Kandros returned to his screen, humming. Maybe this could work out… He just needed the right moment to confess his feelings. 

_ If only it was that easy. _

The next day, Ryder had stopped to say goodbye before the Tempest left the Nexus, but before he left, Kandros quickly gave him a rather brisk, but warm hug. Ryder looked surprised, but he blushed all the same, and Kandros smiled warmly. 

“See you soon, Scott.”

“Yeah… see ya, Kandros. Stay in touch!”

Admittedly, Kandros really didn’t want him to go. He wanted to talk more, to eat with him, laugh, walk, and grow closer. Maybe even give him a kiss. Kandros resumed his work, forcing himself to focus. APEX had just had a good raid on Eos, and Kandros had to make sure the report was given to Tann to show their progress so far. He set to work.

Ryder startled him, though. “Wait, Kandros, did you call me Scott?”

Kandros jumped and swore, which seemed to amuse Ryder heavily. “Uh, yeah… Is that OK?”

“Yeah, it is, I was just wondering when you would make that change, Tiran. We’ve been friends for a while now. For a second, I actually thought you forgot my name!” Ryder laughed, and Kandros gave a signature turian smile.

“The same can go for you, Scott.”

“I suppose you’re right… Well, see you later, Tiran!” Kandros’ heart flutter, hearing the word,  _ his fucking name _ , come out of Scott’s mouth. It sounded… good. It made Tiran feel good, that’s for sure. He caught himself staring at Scott’s ass as he walked away. He cursed himself silently and went back to work, checking over his shoulder to see if Scott was going to 

 

About twelve days later, Scott returned triumphant. With two new colonies on Voeld and Kadara, strengthened ties with the angara and the Exiles, and one step closer to finding the Archon. Scott was ecstatic, and Tiran was more than happy to listen to him talk. He studied Ryder again, and each time he did, he realized he was more beautiful than the last time he left. Then he mentioned Sloane Kelly.

“I’m sorry, did you say Sloane Kelly?”

Ryder looked confused. “Yeah, she’s leading the Exiles now. I stopped an assassination attempt on her, after a contact turned out to be the Charlatan.” His expression fell. “I hope he’ll be able to help us later. He is a damn good information broker.” Ryder’s voice trailed off at Kandros’ expression. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing” He said quickly. Ryder looked unconvinced. Kandros sighed. “Um, I used to have… a thing for Sloane.” He said even quicker, and Ryder looked shocked. 

“Really? You and Sloane?”

“Look, it didn’t go anywhere. We… well, we spent the night once. Then the uprising happened, and…” Kandros looked away. “I thought I knew her. Turns out I didn’t. End of story.”

“Kandros, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring that up.”

“Don’t worry about it. It was a long time ago.” 

Ryder gained a mischievous smile. “Do you have your eyes on anyone else?”

Kandros looked at Ryder, and laughed. Here he was, the man he had been falling for for the last two weeks. The way he looked was amazing, the way he talked made Kandros happy, and the way that Ryder acted made Kandros feel alive. He could just tell him right here, right now. Get it over with. See if Ryder felt the same way. But…

“Yeah, just a crush though.” Ryder laughed at that. Kandros internally sighed in relief.  _ That was close. _ “Nothing too big, or distracting.” Kandros finished lamely.

“Nice, I hope it works out for you.” Kandros laughed with Ryder.

“What about you, Scott?”

“I also have a little crush, but it’s kinda hard to pursue anything with hi… I mean, uh, them.” Kandros gave a sly smirk.

“So it’s a he?”

“It was  _ supposed _ to be a mystery for you, but yeah, I do.” Ryder smiled sheepishly.

“Well, I hope it works out for you, whoever he is.” 

_ And I hope they’re a turian that commands a certain military unit on the Nexus. _

Ryder checked his omnitool and swore. “Shit, Avitus found Natanus parts on a new planet. Elaaden. Heard anything about it?”

Kandros shrugged. “That’s where New Tuchanka is. It’s a desert, too.” Ryder looked confused. “New Tuchanka is where the krogan decided to set up camp. Ah, good luck with them.” Kandros smiled again, and Ryder laughed.

“Yeah, I should probably get going. But when I get back, you better tell me who you like, Tiran! I’m gonna hook you up!” Kandros waved Ryder off, and watched him leave. Sajax almost immediately took his place. 

“Why don’t you tell him?”

Kandros sighed. “The time isn’t right. Plus, I still don’t know if he likes me or not.”

Sajax gave his arm a playful punch. “Bullshit, he definitely does. For one, he comes down all the time to talk to you, and he never gets tired of you. Also, he keeps blushing when you hug him! That’s a giveaway.”

“I know, I know, I’m just… a little scared, that’s all.” Sajax chuckled. 

“Believe me, I’ve been there. Just keep talking with me and I’ll try to help you, alright? Also, I told Kesh and Vetra.”

“Wait, you did  _ what? _ ” Kandros turned on her, and Sajax shrank. 

“Sorry! I thought that they would be able to help out, and I know they wanna talk with you. In fact, next time the Tempest lands, Vetra wants to talk with you.”

Kandros sighed in exasperation. “Spirits, Sajax, I didn’t want all of them knowing.” He looked at Sajax, and smiled. “Whatever, though. I was actually considering telling them anyways.” Sajax looked relieved. 

“Good, because Kesh wants to speak with you soon. She’s gonna message you sometime today.” Immediately, Kandros’ omnitool pinged. It was a message from Kesh. 

“Impeccable timing, Sajax.” 

Sajax grinned. “I’ll get back to work.”

Five minutes later, Kandros was in Kesh’s office, listening to her go on about impressing Ryder and giving him gifts and a bunch of krogan traditions. After another ten minutes, Kandros had enough.

“Kesh, stop.” Kesh trailed off, looking a little put-off. “I don’t need to do all of this with him. I’m pretty sure he feels the same way about me, but I do agree with you about handing gifts to him and courting him and whatever, but I really just want to make sure he likes me first. Then, all of your dating ideas will work out.” 

Kesh gave a laugh. “I figured you would say that. Vetra would know more about this, but I would also talk to Sajax. We’re here to help you out, Kandros.”

“Do I need to start a group message or something for this? Because I will, if we need to.”

“That… isn’t a bad idea. Go ahead.”

Kandros pulled out his omnitool and quickly typed in a few names. “Done. I’ll leave now, but thanks, Kesh.” Kandros started to walk out, but Kesh stopped him.

“Wait.” Kandros stopped and turned. “I’m glad you’re doing better. And I’m glad you’re able to help him. Just make sure he’s what you’re looking for.”

Kandros gave a quick smile. “Believe me, he’s been helping me as much as I’ve been helping him.”

 

The next two weeks were a blur for Kandros. Between the three outposts all becoming self-sustaining, APEX getting more recruits than ever, the salarian and asari arks both being returned to the Nexus,and more kett and Remnant than ever before, Kandros had his hands full. By the time that Ryder returned, Kandros had been awake for almost fifty hours, and without thinking, he returned to his apartment and passed out. 

Fifteen hours later, Kandros woke, startled, as  a new dream involving Ryder jolted him awake. And not the good kind of dream. He studied the crack in the ceiling until he calmed down enough to clear his head of the ghastly visions of Ryder getting mauled by the kett. He really liked looking at that crack. Not only did the crack symbolize the end of the hopelessness that had taken the Nexus, the inability do help anyone and the start of his friendship with Ryder, but it made him calmer as well. He was always happy to see it.

_ Wait. How long did I sleep for? _ Kandros checked the time. 

“Holy shit! Fifteen hours?” Kandros bolted out of bed and started throwing on his armor (he didn’t remember ever getting undressed), and fixing a mug of coffee. Suddenly, someone knocked at the door. Kandros froze, his torso armorless and coffee swirling in his mouth. He swallowed and checked his omnitool camera, and he breathed a sigh of relief. It was just Ryder. Kandros opened the door calming down slightly but hurrying to put on the rest of his armor to cover his torso. “Hey, Scott.”

“Whoa, Tiran, calm down!”

“I can’t! I just slept for fifteen hours, and the Nexus needs-”

“I got Sajax to cover things for you. She said she was more than capable.”

Kandros stopped. “You did?” A nod. “Why?”

Ryder didn’t answer immediately. Kandros vaguely noticed Ryder’s eyes over his own exposed torso. He took a deep breath and then said, “I was hoping we could catch some lunch again. Have some more time together. If you want to.”

Kandros’ mind cried out in glee, and his heart skipped.  _ He was getting his chance!! _ “Yeah!” Kandros coughed, his subvocals giving away his inner excitement. “Yeah, That sounds good. Let me finish changing, though.”

“What, do you always dress in armor?” Ryder laughed. Kandros smiled. 

“Comes with the job.”

“Well, yeah, but that doesn’t mean that you always need to adorn your fancy armor every single day! Just relax today, and wear some civvies or something. I mean,” Ryder gestured to himself, in a Blasto tank top and sweat pants. “I should have probably dressed nicer, but that’s not the point.”

“Well… I see your  point. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Kandros retreated to his bedroom “No peeking.”

“I wasn’t going to!” Ryder chuckled.

“Just checking…”  _ I would have. _ Kandros quickly changed into clothes more comfortable for him - a blue turian version of a tank top, with a soft pair of black pants and footwraps that let his feet breathe while also providing protection. He came out to Ryder turned away. “Alright, I’m ready.” Ryder turned around and quickly looked over Kandros outfit. 

“Wow! That suits you, Tiran. You should wear civvies more often.” Kandros turned and coughed, trying to hide his blush. He didn’t notice Ryder’s reddening cheeks. 

“Thanks, Scott.” His subvocals were a lot higher than normal now. “Uh, you look pretty good yourself.” Kandros silently cursed.  _ Don’t come on too strong! _

Ryder seemed to take this in stride. “Thanks! Now, let’s go. Kesh and Vetra recommended this place, and I heard it has really good Palaveni food.”

Kandros followed Ryder out the door, but he was slightly suspicious. Kesh, Vetra  _ and _ Sajax, all involved in this? Something was up. He quickly sent a message to the rather active group message.

//To: Group:  _ Get Kandros a Guy from: APEXPredator _

What did you guys tell Ryder? He’s taking me to lunch, and I’m a little suspicious.//

A moment passed.

//To: Group:  _ Get Kandros a Guy from: Nyx_Nax _

He actually did it? Good on him.

//To: Group:  _ Get Kandros a Guy from: ITS-SAI_AXE _

Get ready, Kandros. ;-)[ //

Kandros rolled his eyes.

//To: Group:  _ Get Kandros a Guy from: NakmorClan _

Good luck, Tiran, and make sure to tell us what happens. //

//To: Group:  _ Get Kandros a Guy from: APEXPredator _

Spirits, you all are the worst. I’ll let you know later. //

Kandros dashed the omnitool. They were on a tram now, zooming towards the finished arm of the Nexus.

“Who were you talking to?” Ryder asked Kandros, looking over at him from his leaning spot.

“Just Sajax. Wanted to get some input on a few things.” Kandros tried to keep his subvocals steady, but he felt like they were constantly giving him away. Either Ryder didn’t notice, didn’t care, or didn’t know what they meant, because he wasn’t giving away anything. 

“Cool, cool. Do you, uh, like her?” 

Kandros laughed. “She has a girlfriend already, but she’s almost like a sister to me. It would feel weird to me.”

“Wait, she does?” Kandros nodded. “Huh.” Ryder stared out at the glass walls and didn’t say anything else. Kandros cleared his throat.

“So, uh, any word on the Natanus? Did Avitus’ lead turn out?” Ryder looked back.

“No, none of the pods we found had any life in them. Last I heard, Avitus was able to find a signal and now he’s trying to trace it back. We’ll see, though.” Kandros nodded. Ryder seemed a lot more reserved right now. Then Kandros noticed his leg.

It was tapping. 

Kandros knew that tick. He did it with his hands when he got nervous. Was Ryder nervous? But for what?

“How was Elaaden?”

“Good, actually. I made friends with Morda, New Tuchanka is allied with us, and we got a new colony. Also dealt with some local issues around the cluster, but things are going pretty good right now.” Ryder gave Kandros a warm smile, and the turian’s heart melted. 

_ Spirits, he looks good. _ “That’s good, that’s good.” Kandros could hear his heart rate rising. He chose not to say anything else, and Ryder did the same. Kandros sniffed the air nonchalantly, but picked up a scent. Ryder’s scent. He sniffed again, nonchalantly.

Ryder was definitely nervous.

The tram stopped and Ryder quickly stepped out, Kandros following close behind him. Ryder looked around through the bustling crowd, many ogling at the two of them, but then he took a left into-

“ _ Shanxi Sunrise? _ You got reservations here? But how?” Kandros quickly caught up to Ryder, who only smiled. 

“I have good friends, Tiran. Also, aren’t you the head of APEX or something like that?  _ And _ part of the Nexus leadership?”

Kandros laughed, and replied, “Just because I’m important doesn’t mean that I can get the good stuff here.”

“I call bullshit on that, and if it’s true, I’m going to change it. Kesh got us- ah, shit.” Ryder muttered, and Kandros perked up. “You, uh, weren’t supposed to hear that.”

Kandros laughed again and the two walked in, were immediately greeted and, after about a minute, the two were seated in a rather private area.

“Damn, Scott, this might be the craziest thing you’ve pulled off.”

“I’m glad you like it. It's a special occasion.”

“What kind of occasion?”

Kandros was interrupted by a human waitress, who was nothing but smiles. “Welcome to  _ Shanxi Sunrise _ , Pathfinder Ryder and Kandros. It’s really an honour to be waiting for you today!”

“Thanks,” Kandros looked at her name tag. “Grace. It’s good to be here.” 

Grace looked like she was having the best day of her life. “Thank you! Now, what would you like today?” Kandros looked at Ryder, who was perusing a menu.

“Hey, Grace! I’ll have the Gutbuster, please. Make it medium rare, also.” 

_ Gutbuster? _ Kandros shook his head slightly, smiling.

Grace turned to Kandros. “What about you?”

“I’ll have the Cibu et Salmo with the Pane bread, with the cut diagonal, please.”

“Wonderful choice, that’s gotten glowing reviews. Any drinks I can get you while you wait?”

Kandros answered first. “Coffee, please. Make it three creams.” Ryder ordered the same.

“Alright, I’ll be right back.” True to her word, she was back within a minute with two rather large cups of coffee.

Kandros took a long drink and grimaced. “Spirits, I’m still tired.” He gave a wide yawn, his mandibles stretching out and giving Ryder a view of his entire mouth. 

“Whoa. Turians yawn so  _ cool. _ ” Kandros laughed and sipped his coffee.

“So, you never finished. What occasion is this for?”

Ryder hesitated. He looked really nervous. Kandros leaned forward. “Hey, it’s OK. You don’t have to be nervous around me.”

Ryder drew a deep breath and forced out, “I wanted to talk to you. About us.”

Kandros heart started beating faster, and his subvocals started humming. “Us? What do you mean?”

“I’m… I’m really glad I met you, Tiran. You really helped me when we first got here because I was feeling… bad. Really bad. I mean, you know the hole situation with us arriving, and the Scourge throwing us off, then my father’s death, and the general pit of despair we found ourselves in. For a while, things didn’t look like they would work, and then after Voeld, I just…” Ryder looked up. “I broke.”

Kandros was silent. Listening intently. Ryder drew a shaky breath and continued.

“And then, I talked to you. And you helped. I’ll be honest, I really needed to hear that. What you said.” Ryder’s demeanor started to brighten. “And then you suggested a break, and that week, well… that week was the best week I’ve ever had. For one, I was able to talk to you every day, and you didn’t care. You listened, you laughed, you empathized, you cared about me. And that’s what I needed most.” Ryder’s eyes were welling up, and Kandros’ subvocals hummed louder. 

“Scott, I-”

“I’m not done yet. I just… I need to say this.” He drew another breath, shaky. Kandros remained silent. “I took your advice and I talked to people. They helped me, too. I became more open about my feelings, and I started building better relationships with the Tempest crew. But most importantly, I grew closer to you.” Ryder reached across and gripped Kandros’ hand.

“Tiran Kandros, I think I’m falling in love with you.”

Kandros was stunned. Speechless.  _ He likes me! _ His mind refused to work, and his subvocals hummed even louder. Just then, Grace returned with their food. 

“Here you go, just as you two ordered it. Let me know if you need anything else!”

Ryder spoke to her. “Thanks, Grace, I appreciate it.” Grace nodded, smiling, and left.

Neither of them touched their food, and Kandros didn’t know what to say. His body was screaming at him.

_ Tell him! Tell him how you feel! _ His subvocals screamed. 

_ Why don’t you admit your feelings?  _ His heart yelled.

_ I’m gonna throw up, I’m so nervous! _ And there was his stomach. Finally, he worked up the courage to tell his mind to shut up.

Kandros reached for Ryder’s hand, finally having enough sense in him to do something after several tense seconds, but Ryder quickly pulled it away after his omnitool chimed and he read it, his brow furrowing. Kandros hastily recovered by grabbing his food and bringing it closer. Inside, his mind was screaming at him.

_ Why aren’t you telling him?! _

Ryder looked up, a tear in his eyes.. “I’m sorry… I have to go, Tiran. Avitus found the Natanus…” Ryder got up, and almost strode past Kandros before he put a hand on his shoulder. “See you around.” Kandros reached up and gripped his hand. 

“Scott, I…” He couldn’t finish. Ryder interrupted him, a tear in his eye..

“It’s OK, Kandros. I’ll catch up with you later. And, uh, I owe you.”

Kandros watched as Ryder broke into a jog towards the tram. He clenched his fist. 

“Dammit.” That was an understatement. Kandros was torn. On one hand, Ryder was going to the Natanus. The turian ark was coming home! On the other hand, Kandros was internally screaming at himself, because he might have missed his only chance. To tell him how he felt. How much he wanted him, to breath him in, to taste him, to just be with him.

And it was over.

“Fuck.” He paused. “Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckshitfuckshitfuck!” He muttered under his breath. He buried his face in his hands.

The moment had passed. And he couldn’t even fucking admit his own feelings for Scott Ryder, the human that captivated him, that made him want to change for the better.

The human that he loved.

Grace came by, a puzzled look. “Dine and dash?”

Kandros shook his head, clearing his thoughts,  and stood up. “Pathfinder business. No rest for him.”

Grace nodded, a sad expression on her face. 

“Also, can I get two to-go boxes and the check?”

 

Kandros had a restless night,starting with Kandros informing the group that Ryder had to bail. Vetra knew this, of course, as she was in the crew, but Kesh and Sajax expressed their frustration. With that, Kandros closed his omnitool and lay on his bed. He studied the crack for hours, thinking of what he should have done, what he should have said. What he felt. He finally fell asleep, but only for a few hours. 

When he woke up, he felt even more tired. Probably because it was 0513 hours. Kandros slowly got ready, knowing that he wasn’t going to go back to sleep, and by the time he got to Militia HQ, it was 0745. Sajax greeted him when he got there.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. He’s finding the Natanus.” Sajax nodded, and the two began to work. 

Kandros felt like the morning was dull and fast - three hours passed by before he even knew it. 

And then Ryder came by.

Kandros saw a glimpse of his glossy black hair, and immediately walked out to greet him. However, he stopped when he saw Ryder’s expression.

It was dead. Something happened.

“Scott, what’s wrong?”

“Macen Barro is dead. Estimates are at 15,000 survivors. The ark is all but destroyed. I couldn’t find it fast enough. I’m… sorry.” Ryder turned away and walked off.

“Wait! Scott!” Kandros chased after Ryder, but the tram had already left. “Scott… I don’t blame you.” Kandros lowered his outreached hand. “Scott… I love you.”

 

The next few days were a reason of celebration. 15,000 turians were brought back to the Nexus, and Sajax and the militia were planning a party to celebrate. However, Ryder had apparently isolated himself, according to Vetra. Kandros didn’t have time to look for him, however, so he simply stressed and worried about him for those three days. He kept of messaging him to no answer, until the day before the party.

//To:  _ Path-Founded _

Hey, Scott. APEX is planning a party at the Vortex tomorrow. I want you to come, and we can talk afterwards. Please.//

Kandros didn’t expect his omnitool to ping.

//To:  _ APEXPredator _

Alright. I wanna talk before though.//

//To:  _ Path-Founded _

Yes! Yeah, I wanna talk, too. Thirty minutes before? //

//To:  _ APEXPredator _

Yeah. See you then.//

Kandros immediately sent an invite to the entire Tempest crew, Tann, Kesh and Addison. As expected, Tann declined, but Addison unexpectedly declined as well. Everyone else was on board.  _ Perfect. Now, we wait. _ With his small plan accomplished, he went back to work, humming happily.

 

That night, Kandros stood expectantly, dressed in full armor, as more and more people attended the Vortex. The thumping of the music and the jostling of the many people dancing around, combined with the vague aroma of sweat and alcohol permeating the air was too much for Kandros, so he had left, to wait. He greeted many friends, had a quick chat with Sajax (who was accompanied with Porilla) and eventually met Avitus Rix.

“So, you’re Tiran Kandros,” Avitus gave Kandros a handshake. “I’ve heard a lot about you, especially from Ryder, about how you’ve kept things afloat here.”

Kandros gave a laugh, but his heart fluttered at the mention of Ryder. Unfortunately, his excitement showed in his subvocals. “Ah, it’s no big deal. I was just doing what the Nexus needed.” 

“Humble… you’re doing good, Kandros. I have a quick question for you, though.” Avitus leaned in closer, his eyes growing a curious look. Kandros stood his ground.

“Is it true? You and Ryder?” Kandros gave a confused look at Avitus, who raised his brow plates questioningly.

“Well, not officially. Who told you?”

“Believe it or not, he let it slip on accident that he liked you, and Vetra reaffirmed it.” 

_ Can’t keep this a secret much longer. _ Kandros nodded. “That’s why I invited him tonight. He told me how he felt, but I never got to reciprocate the feeling. So, I’m hoping he shows up.”

“You don’t need to worry, he’s behind me about 100 feet.” True to his word, Kandros peeked around Avitus and saw Ryder walking behind the Tempest crew, who seemed more than excited at the prospect of a party. “Anyways, before you spend your time with him, I’m gonna talk with him for a moment before I run off.” 

“Why? Are you not having fun?”

“It’s fun, don’t get me wrong, but…” Avitus hesitated. “Macen.”

Kandros went silent. For a moment. “Hey, uh, if you ever want to talk about him… I’m available.”

“Thanks, but I don’t think I’m ready for that yet. I’ll see you around, Kandros.” Kandros leaned against the wall next to the entrance once more as he watched Avitus saunter over to Ryder. He watched as the two exchanged words, how Avitus pointed over at him, how Ryder’s body almost immediately straightened up afterwards. Then, Avitus was off with a pat on the shoulder, and Ryder waved him off. He watched Avitus for a moment before he made his way over to Kandros, who gulped nervously and stood up straight, mentally willing his subvocals to  _ stop that humming. _

“Hey, Scott? How’s it going?” Kandros felt like he was too loud. How did Ryder not hear his heart thumping?

“Could be better.” Ryder seemed reserved, so Kandros, acting out of nervousness, stuck out his hand. Ryder raised an eyebrow. 

“Come on in. I heard the beer tastes shitty.”

Ryder gave a chuckle. “Alright, you’ve convinced me.” Ryder strode into the club, leaving Kandros to lower his arm and follow Ryder in. Within minutes, Ryder was the center of all attention, after taking a quick shot and dancing on stage with a couple of dancers. Kandros couldn’t believe it. 

_ He seemed so reserved… _ He glanced over at Vetra, who had a troubled look on her face. Suddenly, it dawned on Kandros.  _ He’s trying to forget! This isn’t going to end well… _ Kandros looked up just in time to see Ryder fall off the stage, much to the growing crowd’s amusement. Kandros immediately went over to help him up, and Ryder was laughing as well, albeit a much more strained laugh. 

“Did you see that, Kandros?” Ryder asked, jumping up to his feet. “That was fucking fun!”

“Yeah, I did. Can we talk, Scott I’ll get you a drink.” Kandros gently grabbed Ryder’s hand, and, surprisingly, he complied without resistance. At the bar, Kandros ordered a Drossix Blue, and Ryder told the bartender to “Surprise me,” which got a slightly mischievous look on the bartender’s face. Kandros made a mental note to check him out later.

“So, what do you wanna talk about, Kandros?” Ryder turned to him, his face having an air of gusto Kandros only saw in drunks - and people who felt trapped. Kandros noted the name change Ryder adopted, considered his approach. What was he going to say? He realized that simply saying the he liked Ryder wasn’t going to help. He had to address the main issue. The Natanus.

“It’s not your fault. I don’t blame you, and no one does.” Ryder’s expression immediately changed, and his demeanor changed drastically. He suddenly looked tired, more tired that Kandros had ever seen him.

“I… I should have been faster.”

“Scott, there wasn’t any-”

Ryder interrupted. “If I had focused on those arks, then we would still have the lost salarians, the first asari pathfinder wouldn’t have died, and those turians… and Macen…” Ryder looked away. Kandros tried to speak again.

“You did the best that-”

“If I had woken up earlier, then Sara would be awake, and if I had been more careful on Habitat 7 then-”

“Scott!” Kandros raised his voice, but the noises of the club muffled the sound to everyone but Ryder. He started and looked at Kandros.

“None of this is your fault. You’ve done the best that you can in these situations, the best that anyone could have done. Even better, actually. You’ve continually brought hope to the Nexus and its inhabitants, and you’ve made peace with an alien race! You’ve saved over 50,000 lives, and you’ve made homes on four formerly inhospitable planets. You’ve not only done the extraordinary; you’ve done the impossible!” Ryder looked down, opening his mouth, but Kandros wasn’t done. “Despite all of this, you keep blaming things that aren’t your fault! No one knew anything about the Remnant on Habitat 7, the arks were virtually nonexistent, and the Scourge was never even supposed to exist! You keep taking the responsibility of everyone around you, without regards to your own well-being. I know exactly how you feel, because I was there for almost a year before you arrived! I felt like I had to take care of everyone, but I never even worried about myself. Anytime something happened to someone that I had no control over, I punished myself. I got into a bad place, Scott, and I don’t want to see you there, too.” Kandros exhaled and waited for Ryder to respond. Ryder looked back up at Kandros, his eyes redder than normal and a tear forming. Kandros’ expression softened and he went to comfort Ryder, but he spoke first.

“You… do? You understand?” Kandros nodded gently. “I… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry, Scott. Be grateful. After all, you’re the reason why I’m not there anymore.” Ryder blushed and looked at Kandros again, looking like he wanted to speak, but the bartender arrived with the drinks. Ryder immediately took one and, Kandros, recognizing the color of the drink, went to take it from Ryder. It was too late. 

‘ “Shit!”

Ryder downed the shot, smiling, but one look from Kandros changed that.

“What?”

“You drank mine…”

Ryder looked at the other glass, which wasn’t blue, but rather green. He then looked at the glass in his hands. “Oh, fuck me.”

“Alright, let’s go, Scott. I’m not gonna let you throw up on the floor here.” Kandros straightened and put an arm around Ryder, who set the glass back on the counter calmly, and the two began to walk out. Kandros saw Vetra notice them, but she didn’t pursue. She would, though. Kandros knew she would. Once the two were out of the club, Kandros spoke. “How do you feel?”

“Well, I feel like my stomach is already disagreeing with me.” Ryder grimaced and put a hand on his stomach. “Uh, you’ll have to take me to the clinic, or something.”

“No worries, I know where it is. It’s this way.” Kandros led Ryder down an open pathway that circled the entire ring of the Nexus. It resembled the Presidium of the Citadel, and was even complete with artificial rivers and lakes. It would be nice, to walk with Ryder around the whole thing and just talk, but Ryder, unfortunately, ran to a public trash can and vomited inside of it. Kandros stood by him as he finished, wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

“This is gonna fucking suck, isn’t it?” Kandros nodded. Ryder sighed. “Man, I’m supposed to go out tomorrow. How long is this going to take?”

“At least a night, maybe a day. They’re going to have to flush out your stomach, give you antibiotics treated for the dextro proteins inside, and make sure there aren’t any residual side effects. In other words,” Kandros looked at Ryder and cracked a smile. “You’re gonna be up all night.”

Ryder groaned, in pain or exasperation, Kandros didn’t know. Maybe both. “Wow, that’s going to be fun. How do you know about that stuff?”

Kandros sighed. “I might have accidentally had a bit of a date’s drink once.” Ryder immediately started to laugh, which was immediately regretted. 

“Wait, really? You really got a reaction on accident?” 

“Hey, you did too, so I wouldn’t be talking!” Ryder laughed harder, and Kandros laughed as well. The two kept a mostly light-hearted conversation, until Ryder started to feel nauseated and Kandros noticed he was sweating. The rest of the short trip to the clinic was Kandros easily carrying Ryder and running to their destination.

An hour later, Kandros was making two cups of coffee - one dextro, the other levo - in the Intensive Care Unit. He checked the time. 0090 hours. It was gonna be a long night. Finishing up, he kept the levo in his left hand and his in his right, which he sipped sparingly as he made his way down the hall. Ryder was fine - Kandros had gotten him there as soon as he could, which the doctors said would make the treatment far easier and supposedly less painful. He was on medication at the moment, but in about 20 minutes, they would begin to drain his stomach of the fluids. He hadn’t vomited in more than 15 minutes, and the doctors were optimistic that his stomach wasn’t digesting the fluids - it would have been a lot worse. Kandros said that he knew the pain all too well. 

Kandros opened the doors and greeted a very tired and very sick Ryder. 

“How are you?”

Ryder scoffed. “Too be honest, I prefer Eos’ radiation.” Kandros laughed and sat down next to him and handed him the coffee. 

“Wait, I think that’s the dextro one.” Ryder stopped mid-sip, and Kandros laughed. “I’m joking.” Ryder scoffed again and drank.

“Not funny.”

“I know.”

The two sat in silence and drank. 

“Why are you still here?” Kandros stopped drinking and looked at Ryder.

“Hmm?”

“You’re still here. You should be getting to bed or sleeping or doing something better with your time. So why are you still here?”

Kandros swallowed.  _ Now or never, Tiran. _ “Uh, well… I have to confess something to you, Scott.” Ryder sat up straighter, attentive.

“When you admitted your feelings to me, I was… scared. Before you told me, actually. But once you finally did, I was… shocked. And happy.” Ryder perked up. “And I… I should have told you this a long time ago, especially then, but… I think I’m falling for you, too.” Ryder said nothing. Kandros drew a quick breath, noting how his subvocals were obviously high pitched and his voice was shaking. “Um, I’ve actually been falling for you for a long time. And… I should have told you before you left, before any of that shit happened.” 

Ryder looked stunned. For a minute, they sat there, until an idea crossed Kandros’ mind. He stood up and leaned in close to Ryder, breathing him in. Ryder sat very still, but the air around him hummed with excitement. He muttered one word.

“Tiran…” Kandros put a hand to his cheek and kissed him, just like Sloane taught him. He kept it there and Ryder reciprocated the feeling, sucking on his lip plate. The sensation was wonderful, and Kandros wanted more. Kandros moved his hand to the back of Ryder’s head and he started to part his mouth, letting his tongue dance out. Ryder opened his lips wider to allow it, and Kandros let the moment take him. He felt even better than Kandros imagined. He tasted like a cool breeze, felt like a warm blanket on his hand, smelt like… coffee, of all things. In other words, Kandros was intoxicated by Ryder, and once he had a taste, he only wanted more. 

Ryder only broke the kiss to breath, and Kandros touched his forehead against Ryder’s. “Tiran… I…” 

“I’ve wanted to do that for a long time, Scott.”

“How was I?”

Kandros laughed. Even when he was vomiting up his stomach, Ryder still had a sense of humor. “You were great, Scott.”

“Good, but I’m afraid we’ll have to stop. I’m sick beyond reason, and I just realized that I might get you sick, or some other shit like that.” Kandros nodded and sat back in his chair. Already, he missed the taste on his lip plates. 

“That’s a fair point.” Ryder laughed.

“Thanks for the coffee, Tiran, and… the kiss…” he blushed quickly. “I would also recommend talking to the doctors when you leave.”

“I will talk to them, but I’m not leaving. Not until I know you’re OK.” Kandros looked at Ryder dead in the eye. “I’m not leaving you.”

Ryder smiled, a tear welling up. Or was that a bead of sweat? “Tiran… Thanks.”

The doctors walked in, a salarian, krogan and a human, with a bunch of equipment. 

“We’re afraid we need you to leave while we do this procedure.” Kandros nodded and stood up. “The process will take about three hours, more or less depending on the amount of the amino acids present. You’re welcome to come back afterwards, though, Mr. Kandros.” The salarian finished.

“I’ll think I’ll stay in the lobby. Thank you.” Kandros left the room, and after a hasty reassuring from a doctor that “You won’t get him sick, turians have a different immune system that humans, something this lowly would be like a sneeze to a turian,” Kandros made himself another cup of coffee and sat in the lobby. 

A few minutes later, Vetra and Kesh walked in, all smiles for Vetra and more of a scowl on Kesh.

“So, how is he?” Vetra quickly 

“What even happened?”

“Did you kiss?”

“If you killed the Pathfinder, I’m gonna kill you, Tiran.”

“Did you at least hold hands?”

“Whoa, whoa,” Kandros held up his hands. “Calm down, I’ll explain everything.” And Kandros did, although he was brief and held up on the details of the kiss (Kandros still couldn’t stop thinking about it) and by the end of it, Kesh and Vetra were both smiles.

“Sajax is going to flip when she hears this. Anyways, get some sleep, Tiran. I’ll see you tomorrow. And we’ll talk more about tonight then!” Kesh walked out, leaving Kandros and Vetra alone. There was a brief period of silence.

“So, you finally admitted your feelings and kissed him,” Vetra took a seat next to him. “How did it feel?”

“I’m going to be honest… it was better than I imagined.” Vetra laughed. Kandros gave Vetra a grateful look. “Thank you. Seriously, for helping out. You didn’t have to.”

“Yeah, I did. You wouldn’t have done anything otherwise, Tiran.” 

“You might be right.”

“I  _ know _ I’m right, Tiran.”

“Shut up.”

Vetra put her hand on Kandros’ and gave it a squeeze. “Just treat him well. He means a lot to me, too.”

“Yeah… Me too, Vetra.” Kandros looked at Vetra again. The artificial light of the Nexus caught her features in an angle he had never seen before. She looked a lot older, and more tired.“Thanks again. And please, take care of yourself, Vetra. Spirits know what I would do if you got hurt.” 

Vetra gave a smirk. “Like I could get hurt.” The two sat for a minute, and Kandros glanced towards the hall

He loved him.

 

Vetra had left a moment later (after admitting to having a crush on the angara, Jaal, by accident - Kandros would have to tell Ryder and the two would set them up) so Kandros took a nap. The salarian doctor gently shook him awake and said that Ryder was conscious and performing better than expected. Kandro grooggily checked his omnitool, seeing 0543, and he stood and went to visit with Ryder. The two chatted for an hour, including the previously unknown topic of Sara (“Wait, I never told you about Sara before? Sit your ass down, she’s one of the craziest fuckers I’ve ever met!”) before Ryder was cleared. The krogan doctor accredited Ryder’s rather comprehensive biotics for being able to flush out the acids quicker than normal, and Kandros accompanied Ryder to the Docking Bay. The whole crew was there, and they all lost it when Ryder and Kandros showed up holding hands. After chatting and meeting everyone there, including a rather enthusiastic hug from Jaal, Ryder gave Kandros a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Stay in touch, alright?”

“Of course.” Ryder smiled and walked towards the doors, the crew following suit. Ryder waited until they all went through before he started to walk.

“Scott!” Ryder turned around. Kandros’ voice suddenly stopped working, and he mustered out, “I-I love you.”

Ryder gave a big grin, which made Kandros happy, and said, “I love you, too.”

With a turn, he was gone. And Kandros was the happiest he had ever been in Andromeda.


	4. Chapter 4

With their relationship solidified, Kandros was happier than he had ever been in Andromeda. It showed, too. Soon, all of APEX was happy for no good reason, besides seeing Kandros so lighthearted and non-overbearing. They all liked it. So did Kandros. 

Ryder was just as joyful, if not moreso. With the advent of Sara finally waking up and the famed Meridian within their reach, Ryder was happier than ever. Ryder would send messages everyday, throughout the day, and video calls during lunch. Kandros happily followed suit, proving for some funny conversations, sappy moments, and making fun of each other about little things.

“Wait, you got a scar because of  _ Peebee’s little bot _ ?” Kandros started to laugh, his sandwich forgotten.

“Let me explain, alright? She was showing me a remnant VI she developed, and she told me to say a command. So I did, I said to come here, and it randomly flailed and scratched my cheek! It almost got my eye, Tiran!” Kandros still laughed, and Ryder started to laugh as well. “Shit, Tiran, it’s not funny!” Ryder said through mirthful laughter.

“Yeah it is, it’s fucking hilarious!” Kandros wheezed and calmed down, breathing hard. Ryder just looked through the video feed, and smiled. 

“God, I love you, Tiran.” Kandros’ heart fluttered. Every time he said that, Kandros had to remember that all of this was real, that he was actually dating Scott Ryder, and that he loved him. It was a dream come true. A crack in the negativity of Andromeda.

“I love you too, Scott. I have to go, but we’ll talk later. I promise.” 

“Sounds good. See ya then, Big Bird.” Scott laughed.

“What does that even mean?” Kandros asked, slightly annoyed.

“I’ll tell you when I get back. Bye!” He shut down the call and Kandros mumbled, slightly smiling. He would see Ryder soon, and he would kiss his body, and taste him. Maybe…

_ No. Not yet. It’s too soon. _ Kandros reminded himself. His body desperately wanted it, but Kandros wanted a better opportunity. He checked his omnitool. 1234 hours.  _ Not too long left. _ Kandros finished his sandwich and made his way from his eating spot in Hydroponics to the tram back up to the Ops center.

They had been going strong for a week. Things were good.

 

Two weeks later

 

Kandros woke up to alarms blaring, and he quickly donned his armor.  A quick call from Tann revealed that Ryder was seriously injured on Khi Tasira, the Archon got control of the Hyperion and was headed towards Meridian, and that all who could fight would go to Meridian, with the location being revealed by Ryder. Kandros quickly assembled all the APEX he could and began to command them all to head for Meridian and stop the Archon by any means necessary. By the time he got to the Docking Bay, Kesh, Addison and Tann were all there, commanding various aspects of the Initiative.

“Who do we have out there?” Kandros barked, arriving quickly.

A voice answered on the comms. “All the Pathfinders are here, Kandros. You’ve got an angaran fleet, Initiative fighters, and Ryder somehow got a Remnant fleet to fly for us. We’re all headed to Meridian.”

“Thanks, Avitus. Stay connected.” Kandros headed towards the ships.

“Kandros!” Kesh ran up to him. “What the hell are you doing?”

“The best way to command a battle is to do it on the battlefield. Plus,” Kandros’ expression softened. “Scott is out there, and so is his sister. I need to help them.”

Kesh gave an annoyed sigh. “There’s a ship prepped down there. And for fuck’s sake, Kandros,” Kandros raised a brow plate. “Don’t die.”

Kandros smiled. “Wasn’t planning on it. I’ll stay in contact with you.” Within five minutes, Kandros, along with several hundred Initiative ships, were en route to a waypoint made public by the Tempest. 

Kandros was desperately trying to contact the Tempest crew, to no avail. 

“Dammit, Scott!” Kandros swore.

After a few minutes of no success, and Meridian approaching fast, a message from the Tempest came in.

“Tiran?” It was Scott! He was OK!

“Spirits, Scott, I thought you were dead!”

“Not yet. The Archon has my sister, and he’s trying to take Meridian from me. I’m killing that bastard.”

“I’m coming to Meridian, I’ll try to give you cover.”

“Thanks. And Tiran?”

Kandros’ voice caught. “Yes?”

“I need a vacation after this shit. Preferably with you. You down?”

Kandros wasn’t exactly sure what that meant, but he definitely knew that Ryder wasn’t planning on dying. That was something he could get behind.

“You got it, Scott.”

 

Ryder’s sister was fine, and the Archon was holed up in the command center. Unfortunately, that’s where most of his power would be, and that’s where all of Ryder’s squad had gone down to. Everyone else arrived later. 

Kandros was pacing the now closed entrance back and forth, after all aerial combat had resulted in victory on the Initiative’s behalf. Several people had touched down, including an unexpected appearance by the angaran resistance.

“Efvra! What are you doing here?” Kandros had approached cautiously.

“We came to help.” Efvra looked like he would rather be somewhere else. “He might be a  _ vehsaanan _ , but he’s been of valuable help to us. And we would like for him to be alive. Where is he now?”

“Fighting the Archon in the control center.” Kandros gestured behind him. “We can’t get in to help.”

“So now, we wait.”

“Yeah.”

“I’m not sitting around without doing something.” Efvra immediately set out to create a secured perimeter around Meridian, and Kandros contributed some of his forces to the protection. Several checkpoints were set up from the Hyperion to the control center, but an hour later, there still was no conflict. And no sign of Ryder.

Kandros had decided to do some basic military exercise to take his mind off of things. Before he could start on his third set, he was interrupted. Before the figure that stood in front of him could even talk, Kandros could smell them. Well, her. One’s scent isn’t easily forgotten, especially when Kandros had slept with her before.

“Sloane.” Kandros popped up, looking into her eyes. She never backed down.

“Tiran.” The two stood and stared at each other for a moment, before Kandros reached out… for a handshake. Sloane looked just as surprised.

“Burn bridges. We could use some patched holes right about now.” Sloane nodded in understanding and took his hand.

“Damn, Tiran, you’ve changed.”

“Good. You haven’t.”

“Damn right I haven’t.”

Kaetus walked up behind her, looking a little worse for wear. Kandros nodded at him. No matter what side he chose, Kaetus was still a clanmate. 

“You look like shit, Kaetus.”

He laughed. “You look chipper as ever.” Kaetus grimaced afterwards.

Sloane took the conversation. “So, how about your little Ryder?”

Kandros immediately tensed up, and his subvocals growled. “What about him? Choose your words carefully.”

Sloane held up her hands. “Relax, I actually like him. Where is he?”

Kandros nodded his head in the direction of the control center. “Fighting the Archon.”

“Damn, he really did it, then.” Sloane actually looked impressed. “Well, I’m not here to wait out his fate. Where’s Tann?”

“Still on the Nexus. Someone has to watch over things while they’re gone.”

Sloane scoffed. “Number Eight.” Kandros gave a chuckle, until a boom sounded. The entire ground shook, and Kandros immediately looked towards the door. After a minute, the main tower started to dispel an energy beam of sorts, and for a minute, the sky was filled with a glowing white light. After another two minutes, the doors opened, and out came the Nexus squad - all looking beat up and tired, with Scott carrying Sara. Kandros ran up and took Scott, who was nursing a broken arm, while Vetra took Sara. Lexi, the Tempest doctor, immediately took Sara aside, and Dr. Carlyle of the Hyperion looked over Scott.

“Scott, what happened?” Kandros was trying his damned hardest to not hug Scott, or celebrate, but  _ just be careful, Tiran! _ while Dr. Carlyle brought up his omnitool to dispense some medigel.

“Tiran… We did it. Meridian is online. All the vaults should be fully activated.  _ We did it. _ ”

Kandros grinned ecstatically. “You did it!” Kandros leaned in and gave Ryder a crushing hug, while also being mindful of the broken arm. Ryder laughed.

“Calm down, Big Bird, just another day’s work.”

“Like hell that is, Scott, and you know it.”

Ryder laughed and kissed Kandros. While they kissed, Vetra whistled, and Jaal laughed hysterically. Kandros laughed as well.

“There will be more time for celebrating on the Nexus. You in, Scott?”

“There better be a statue.”

Kandros gave a wheeze laugh. “Scott… they don’t  _ do _ statues! You’ll probably just get a medal.”

“As long as you’re there, it doesn’t matter to me.” Scott touched foreheads with Kandros.

“I love you, Tiran Kandros, and I don’t care who knows it.”

“Scott Ryder, I love you  _ more. _ ”

“We are not playing that game right now.”

“Yes, considering Scott has a broken arm that needs tending to.” Carlyle and Lexi both were looking at Kandros, stern expressions on their faces. Kandros blushed slightly and gently set Ryder down, but he sat next to him. 

“I can’t believe we did it, Tiran.” Kandros thought about it. What happened was truly amazing. And beyond all odds. The Heleus cluster would soon be thriving, growing and, above all, livable. The future was exciting.

“With you, anything’s possible.”

One week later, and the cluster had the largest growth yet. Planets were springing up all kinds of plants and flowers, toxicity levels were rapidly decreasing, and resources were being pulled in by the tens of thousands. 

After the battle on Meridian, the celebrations had started on the now landed Hyperion, which would be refitted to become the center of the newest human colony on Meridian. While Kandros had thought there was a lot of fun to be had, all he wanted was to be with Ryder. 

The festivities had been moved to the Nexus, and construction was in earnest. Projections estimated the Nexus would be finished in less than two years at this rate, and in that time, all the outposts would grow tenfold, with the angara also thriving. Kandros theorized that all the growth was a result of the Kett no longer being an active threat in Heleus. 

One cause of trouble was the “Quarian” ark. They had run into troubles and sent out a distress signal saying to not find them. Not like Ryder would listen. Still, no one had any idea as to where the ark had ended up, and search parties would be underway to search for it.

In the meantime, Ryder had to attend countless meetings with hundreds of people all over the cluster, and Kandros joined him. Mostly because he loved him, but Kandros was also required to be there, as well as the other Pathfinders. Most of that week had been fun, but when Ryder suggested they go to Eos and just spend one night together, Kandros readily agreed.

Flash forward to the present, and Kandros was only slightly regretting his choices. Only when he looked down, though. 

Almost one hundred meters below, Podromos shone brightly, bustling with activity. Surrounded by new green mixed with the shining waters and the deep red and scarlet rocks, Kandros would have it was beautiful. Of course, he was constantly reminded of his precarious situation by the sliding of rocks.  _ Focus, Kandros. Views can wait. _ Sighing, he followed Ryder up the nearly vertical sandstone face. He should have brought his armor. But Ryder had insisted that they dress casually. Which was a bad idea, because they both had sand and dust all over them. 

They were almost near the top, where Ryder said the view was amazing. It had better be. 

“Hurry up, slowpoke!” Ryder called from about ten feet above him. “There’s not much left!”

Ryder heard a grunting sound, and ducked as Kandros cleared Ryder in one swift jump, and the turian quickly climbed the rest of the cliff face with ease.

“Hey, what the fuck!” Ryder laughed and climbed up the rest of the way. He was brought up the last bit by Kandros, who easily swung him up onto the outcropping. “Whoa, holy shit, Tiran! I would have had you carry me! How the fuck can you climb so well?” Kandros laughed and set him down on his feet, and the two stood there, admiring the view.

All around them was a view that made Kandros breathless. As far as the eye could see was towers of crimson mountains, arches and buttes, forever. To the right of those, it flattened out into a desert that shone like a diamond, and was dazzling in the light. Kandros took this all in, and glanced at Ryder, who was admiring the view.

“God, it’s so beautiful. And it’s ours. All of us. We fought even with odds against us, we survived when we should have died, we dared to hope when all seemed lost. And now, the golden worlds are growing.” Ryder looked at Kandros. “I couldn’t have gotten this far without you, Tiran.”

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/141062509@N06/41146254180/in/dateposted-public/)

Kandros took Ryder’s hand. “Me too, Scott.” Kandros took a deep breath. “Before you came, I thought we were all dead. I thought that there was nothing we could do, and we were just digging our own graves. Then, you showed up. And you changed everything. I had lost hope; you gave it back to me.” Kandros turned to Ryder, who was blushing. “Thank you, Scott. For everything. And while this place is beautiful,” Kandros touched his forehead with Ryder’s slowly and gently. “I would rather look at you.”

Ryder gave kandros a kiss before he lay down and leaned against a rock. Kandros joined him, and the two began to talk. That was one of their favorite things to; simply talk and listen and know each other better. For example, Ryder learned that Kandros had also dated Vetra, he had a good run-in with his cousin Nyreen on Omega, and that he secretly loves romance novels. Kandros had also learned that Ryder’s mother was still alive and in Andromeda, that Sara was the worst flirt ever, and that Ryder really enjoyed classical music.

Kandros stopped Ryder (He was going on about some old human named Beethoven) and said, “Scott, you’re amazing. And interesting. And, uh…” Ryder tilted his head a little, and Kandros blushed.  _ Spirits, he is so cute. _ “I’d like to know you… better.”

Ryder smiled and kissed Kandros, leaning over to bridge the gap between them. Kandros returned it, one hand resting on Ryder’s side and the other cupping his face. Ryder moaned into Kandros and pulled him closer, a little more forcefully than he anticipated. Ryder broke the kiss and rolled on top of Kandros and started kissing even more. Kandros rested his hands on Ryder’s ass and squeezed him gently, and Ryder moaned into Kandros mouth. After a moment, Kandros broke the kiss, but his time, he just looked into Ryder’s eyes. They were a brilliant blue, brighter than a royal, but darker than the sky. They shone out vividly, and Kandros felt like he could get lost in them. Then, Kandros pulled Ryder into another kiss, more passionately and with significantly more tongue. Ryder huffed against him, and his mouth opened wider, which was only an invitation for Kandros to go deeper. Kandros’ hands slowly moved down to Ryder’s ass, and he gave him a squeeze. Ryder’s blush grew darker, and he panted. Kandros continued to kiss him, until Ryder pulled away with mischievous smile on his face.

“As much as I want this, I also don’t want to clean sand out of my armor. What do you say we retire to my cabin back on the Tempest, and finish up?”

Kandros feigned deep thinking. “Hmm… You make a compelling argument. I will take you up on your offer. Except, we have to climb all the way down.”

Ryder smiled. “Leave that to me.”

 

Less than fifteen minutes later, after a brilliant showcase of Ryder’s biotics (and after some intense kissing in the armory), the two made their way to Ryder’s cabin. They were less than two feet from the door before Kandros swept Ryder off of his feet and pinned him against the wall.

“Gah!” Ryder yelped, and he wrapped his arms around Kandros’ neck. “You’re really excited for this, Tiran, aren’t you?” 

Kandros answered by gently nipping at Ryder’s neck. Ryder stifled his moan, his head raising and exposing more of his neck. Kandros steadily moved up, giving Ryder’s ear a quick nip before landing a kiss on Ryder’s mouth, putting pressure against his lips with his tongue. Ryder opened up, and Kandros entered, his tongue eagerly exploring Ryder’s mouth. Ryder could only suck on it and give half-moans, and Kandros lifted Ryder up, separating his lips from Rydr’s for a moment to open the door. Once they entered, Kandros quickly and gently lay Ryder down on his bed. 

“Picking up where we left off, huh, Tiran?”

“You could say that.” Kandros struggled with his clothing, while Ryder laughed, stripping his own clothes with ease.

“”Turian clothes look like they  _ suck _ . Human clothes are way easier.”

“You win this round, Scott.” Kandros locked eyes with Ryder, and Ryder blushed a deep red. Kandros was eyeing Ryder carefully, surveying his body. “Sorry, it’s just…  _ Spirits _ , you look amazing, Scott. But I think I’m winning tonight…” Kandros opened his mouth, letting his tongue loll out, which was a good eight to ten inches long.

“Holy shit, Kandros,” Ryder gasped, throwing his shirt to the side. “Holy  _ shit. _ ” Kandros had his shirt off and was well on his way to throwing his pants off as he laughed. 

“I thought you knew already, considering that you’ve been with a turian before.”

Ryder swore. “Well yeah, but your tongue is so  _ long! _ ” Ryder backtracked slightly. “Wait, how’d you find out?”

“No one ever kisses a turian that good on their first try.”

Ryder was now in his underwear. “I will admit, it was only for kissing. She taught me how to kiss her, and that was it. Except for the shower…” Kandros gave a mirthful laugh.

“Don’t worry, Scott… I’ll show you things you’ve never even  _ heard _ of before…” With that, Kandros took off his footwraps and tossed them to the side, his plated body now fully exposed. Ryder still kept his underwear on, and Kandros wanted them off. He slowly approached Ryder, his tongue lolling slightly as he drank the sight of Ryder’s naked body. How many times the turian and imagined this moment, and here he was! It didn’t feel real, but he could smell Ryder in front of him, see his body, and his groin plates spread slightly. Ryder didn’t move an inch, and he shivered under Kandros’ stare. Kandros got as close as he could to Ryder without touching, with Kandros looking down at Ryder and breathing him in.

“Don’t be afraid.” Kandros murmured to Ryder.

“I’m not.”

“If you feel like you don’t want this, at any time, just let me know.”

“But I do want this. You have no idea.”

Kandros lifted his hands to Ryder’s chest and gently pushed him onto the bed, Ryder showing no resistance. Ryder lay sprawled, his legs parted, and Kandros knelt down to his level.

“Turn around, please.” 

Ryder complied with a snicker. “ _ Please _ , that’s cute.”

“You’re cute.” Kandros had other things on his mind. With Ryder’s ass in front of his face, Kandros slowly looped a finger around Ryder’s waistband and slowly dragged the garment down, down to his knees, then to his feet, then onto the floor with a flick of his wrist. Ryder shuddered in anticipation.

Now Kandros could get to work. But first, he admired Ryder’s ass. His cheeks were well-toned, just like the rest of his body, and another squeeze from Kandros’ talons confirmed the firmness there. Kandros experimented and ran his fingers over the skin, eliciting a groan from Ryder.

“Dammit, Kandros, you’re such a tease!”

Kandros chuckled and spread apart his cheeks. Ryder tensed up in anticipation.

“Are you OK? We can stop if you want.”

“No… go ahead, Tiran.”

Kandros nodded and slowly dragged his tongue over Ryder’s ass, savoring the taste. Kandros quickly realized how much he wanted this and he went back for another taste, poking the tip of his tongue. One of his hands quickly found Ryder’s dick, and he began to stroke it back and forth slowly, his other hand opening up Ryder to him. Ryder gave a moan and he buried his face into the covers. Kandros decided to go deeper, his tongue entering Ryder slowly. He was slightly loose, a lot more than Kandros anticipated, but still pleasantly tight. He earnestly began to tongue-fuck Ryder, bringing his tongue around Ryder’s walls until a lick in one position caused Ryder to cry out. Kandros immediately pulled his tongue out.

“Are you OK?” Kandros asked in concern.

Ryder nodded, panting. “Yeah, yeah, that just felt really good.”

Kandros smiled and said, “Good, good. I… that’s good.” Which brought a laugh out of Ryder. 

“Are you nervous, Tiran?”

Kandros chuckled. “Yeah… just a little bit.” Ryder flipped himself around, and touched Kandros’ face with his hand.

“It’s OK. I am too. But I figured, as long as I’m with you, then I feel good. About all of this. Because, I’ll be honest here, I’m nervous but excited. I’m finally going to have sex with you! Are you excited about it too?”

“Yes. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time now.” Ryder smiled and gave Kandros a kiss on his forehead. 

“Then it’s OK. And we’re both going to love it, I can feel that already. Let’s get to it, though, I’m getting super amped up for this.” With that, Ryder turned around, presenting himself once more, and Kandros resumed his efforts, his tongue sliding effortlessly into Ryder’s now saliva coated hole. Kandros returned both hands to Ryder’s ass, and he intentionally kept rubbing his tongue along Ryder’s spot, which caused Ryder to moan rather loudly each time. Each movement of his tongue caused Kandros to breath in deeply, inhaling Ryder’s more potent but still pleasant scent. After a few minutes, Kandros’ genital plates had opened up wide enough for his own cock to emerge. Kandros simply couldn’t take it anymore; he wanted to fuck Ryder.

Kandros slowly pulled out his tongue, causing Ryder to whimper slightly due to his absence. Kandros stared at Ryder’s ass and shook his head. He stood up, and asked “Do you have any lube?”

Ryder nodded, his cheeks a deep red, and he pointed towards a nightstand by the bed. Kandros strode over, letting his fingers trail over Ryder’s back. After a moment of shuffling and some direction from Ryder, Kandros found a rather large bottle of lube, with a label stating it was “Dextro and Levo friendly!”

“Is it really, though? I don’t want to, well, cause any issues…” Kandros pointed at the bottle.

“Yeah, it’s safe. I’ve used that brand with a quarian once. It was good.” Kandros noticed that Ryder couldn’t stop looking at his dick. It was a lot different than Ryder’s own, as his was a deep purple, ridged and ribbed in a satisfying pattern, ending in a tapered point. At the base, which was much thicker than Ryder’s, was a strange pattern that Kandros knew would expand into a knot, and keep the two connected for an extended period. Ryder must have known it too, because he couldn’t stop looking. 

Kandros chuckled and Ryder blushed harder. “Good. That’s the last thing I want to happen right now.” He returned to his position behind Ryder’s ass and squirted lube onto his hands, stroking his cock to his full length with one hand and toying with Ryder’s ass with the other.

After a moment, with his cock lubricated properly, Kandros took his position behind Ryder and - hesitated. 

“Do you want to take it slow? I think we should. I just don’t want to hurt you…” Ryder nodded.

“Yeah… yeah, that would be smart.” Kandros nodded and gulped down his nervousness. 

_ Come on, Tiran. You both want this. Scott’s said how much he wants it. Just go slow. _ Kandros drew a breath and slowly poked the tip of his cock to Ryder’s ass. It slipped in with ease, and Ryder moaned a little bit. Kandros was a little astonished he made it in on his first try, and he slowly pushed in and out, testing the waters. With each small push, his dick slide in deeper, and Ryder grunted and moaned with each small thrust. 

“God damn, Tiran, you feel really good…” Kandros set both of his hands on Ryder’s sides as he rolled his hips, in and out of Ryder. Kandros wasn’t quite halfway, but Ryder kept on coaxing him deeper with his hips pushing against the turian’s. And it felt  _ good. _ Kandros began to speed up his slow thrusting, and Ryder gasped out in pleasure.

Kandros exhaled sharply. Ryder felt so  _ good _ and he had to resist the urge to thrust in hard.  _ Take it slow, take it easy, and don’t hurt him _ . That was his rule right now. _ Don’t hurt him. _ His love.

“God, you’re going so slow.”

Kandros cocked his head. “Is it a problem? Do you want me to go faster?”

“Don’t get me wrong, you feel amazing, and this is amazing, but… please?”

Kandros stifled his laugh, but Ryder chuckled.

“I can take it.”

“You always say that, Scott.”

“But I mean it this time.”

Kandros paused to reposition himself, purposefully and agonizingly slowly to tease Ryder, before he began to thrust in deeper and slightly faster. Ryder immediately moaned out.

“ _ Fuck _ … Tiran, that feels so good…”

Kandros didn’t realize how load Ryder could be in bed. It made things a lot better.

Kandros exhaled, gaining more confidence, and he began to thrust faster, and deeper. Ryder pushed himself into Kandros as far as he could, and each push brought a groan out of Ryder. Kandros’ hips were soon slapping into Ryder’s ass with each thrust, and Ryder kept on clenching down with each inward thrust. After a moment, Kandros finally let a small moan escape his lips.

“Fuck…”

Ryder laughed which quickly changed into a louder moan, and Ryder came, spewing his seed onto the covers below him. Ryder clenched hard against Kandros’ dick, which sent the turian into a state of bliss. He thrust several more times, feeling his knot expanding into Ryder’s ass, and with one final thrust, Kandros came into Ryder’s ass, his knot quickly expanding. Ryder cried out, the sudden warmth filling him proving to be too much for him. He collapsed onto the bed, moaning softly, as Kandros pumped his seed into Ryder. After a moment, Kandros finished, and, while still knotted with Ryder, lay down on top of him. Ryder gasped out, breathing hard, and Kandros laughed.

“Holy  _ fuck _ , Tiran... “ Ryder rolled over slowly, Kandros following suit. The two now lay next to each other, Kandros wrapping an arm around Ryder’s bare body which was glistening with sweat.

“That was… amazing, Scott.” Kandros murmured into Ryder’s ear, slightly nipping at it. Ryder brought his hand around to Kandros’ ass and squeezed it.

“Yeah… that was better than I thought it would be.”

“You’re telling me, Scott…” Kandros licked a trail from Ryder’s ear down to the base of his neck, Ryder closing his eyes and relaxing. “Are you OK? Is everything good?”

“Good? Everything is perfect, Tiran. You’re perfect, this day has been perfect, and I’m so… happy.” Ryder turned around as much as he could and attempted to kiss Kandros, but he missed, which caused Kandros to chuckle.

“We’ll be stuck like this for a few minutes, at least. After that, though…” Kandros thought about it.  _ What else would they do? _

“If you don’t mind, Tiran, I need some time to recover before we continue. For now, we can just…”

“Yeah!” Kandros coughed, covering up his excitement. “I mean, yeah, we can just lay like this… If you want.”

Ryder laughed. “You sounded so excited about that, Tiran. You’re so cute.”

Kandros wrapped his arm around Ryder and nuzzled his hair, his soft hair that felt absolutely amazing. “You’re cuter.”

“Mmm…” Ryder closed his eyes, and the two lay like that for a moment until Kandros slowly pulled out his cock with a rather wet squelch.

“Aaah…” Ryder gasped out. “Shit… that felt good.” Ryder immediately turned himself over, now looking Kandros in the eyes. “But now… i can look at your beautiful, sexy face.”

“Mmmhmm…” Ryder slowly traced one of his fingers over Kandros’ markings. The turian was extremely aware of each touch that Ryder gave him, and he closed his eyes and purred slightly. “Does that feel good, Tiran?” Kandros nodded slowly.

“Don’t stop.”  

Ryder obliged, and Kandros wrapped his arms around Ryder once more and brought him close. For the better part of an hour, the two lay there, talking, chatting, and enjoying each other.

“Ryder, there’s a call from Vetra.”

Kandros jumped and Ryder swore. “Shit, I forgot about you, SAM. Tell her to call back later.”

“She’s rather… insistent.”

“Just tell her I’m… busy, right now.”

“Of course, Ryder.”

Ryder sat up and rubbed his eyes. “Dammit, did SAM feel that whole thing? I’ll have to ask him later…”

Kandros sat up with Ryder, about to speak, when his own omnitool went off. Ryder’s did as well, and they both checked it.

It was a message from Vetra.

_ I fucking knew it! SAM told all of us that you and Ryder re busy in his cabin. I fucking called it, and now Gil owes me a ton of credits. Don’t break him Tiran. _

Kandros closed the message, his cheeks turning a deep purple and his subvocals trilling. The look on Ryder’s face told Kandros that he got a rather similar message.

“Well… now they now.”

The two sat in silence before Kandros started to laugh. He kept laughing, and Ryder couldn’t help himself and joined in. The two laughed for a minute, until SAM joined in.

“Do you need anything else, Ryder?”

“No, SAM…” Ryder’s cheeks were red from laughing, and he was gasping for breath. “Just… leave us… for an hour.”

“Ryder, you do realize that I am implanted in your head. I can feel what you feel.”

That sobered Ryder up immediately, which caused Kandros to snicker. “Oh… uh…”

“It’s to help me be more sympathetic with humans, and to experience your emotions.”

“I know, it’s just… a little awkward.”

“I’ll leave you two now, Ryder.”

“Thanks, SAM.”

There was silence for a moment.

“Well, that answers your question, Scott.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t really make it better. But that’s not important now.” Ryder suddenly was on top of Kandros, and he pushed the turian back down onto the bed.

“We’ve waited long enough, and I’m feeling up to it. It’s my turn, Tiran.” Ryder gave a sly smile.a

Kandros smiled as well, his thoughts rapidly churning as Ryder positioned Kandros on his back, lifting his legs over his shoulders. On the one hand, Kandros always liked to have control of a situation. He was the one to give orders, to command others. But, on the other hand...

He wanted Ryder to fuck him. He  _ really  _ wanted it. 

Kandros’ thoughts were quickly interrupted with Ryder’s fingers toying with Kandros’ ass, and he had to bite down to prevent himself from moaning out.  _ Spirits, that feels good! _

“Damn, Tiran. You’re really tight…” Ryder leaned down, admiring Kandros’ cock glistening in the starlight. Ryder smirked and slowly licked the tip, and Kandros leaned his head back, a sharp breath escaping him. Ryder was only spurred on, and he quickly let his mouth envelop Kandros’ tip while he kept fingering his now-loosening hole. Kandros was forcing himself to not moan out, but it was getting harder by the second. Ryder must have known this, because he kept up his efforts and slid down farther on Kandros’ cock. Kandros couldn’t help it, and a sharp moan escaped his lips, bolstened with a sharp tone from his subvocals, and Ryder hummed contently on his cock and slid off.

“There we go… I think you’re ready, now.”

Kandros nodded, his lust overtaking him, and Ryder poked his tip over Kandros’ ass a few times before finally sinking in, and Kandros cried out. It had been a long time since he had felt something back there. 

Ryder bucked in a lot faster than Kandros had. Ryder was obviously impatient, and Kandros smiled, grunting. 

“Getting a little excited, are we?”

“Oh, yeah...” Ryder slowed down. “Is that alright?”

“Oh yeah, keep going.” Ryder smiled and thrusted hard unexpectedly, and Kandros moaned loudly.

“Oh  _ fuck… me…  _ “ Kandros was panting now. He was getting impatient, too. “Just… fuck me…”

Ryder smirked. “You want this, don’t you? To let someone else be in control… even if it’s just for a little bit.” He continued to thrust, making effort to roll his hips into Kandros’ ass, the turian’s cock bouncing up and down. Kandros moaned again, making eye contact with Ryder through his blushing. Ryder returned the gaze, and Kandros felt the warmth there. The desire for him. The love.

“I’ll take care of you, Tiran. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

The tender moment was unexpected, but more than welcome, and it lasted for a few seconds, and Ryder even slowed down his thrusting.

“Scott. I appreciate the sentiment, and I love you so much…” Ryder blushed, but Kandros wasn’t done talking. “But can you please finish fucking me?” Ryder laughed.

“Afterwards, we can talk our hearts out. You have good priorities, Tiran.” Ryder pushed hard into Kandros, and Kandros grunted out, gasping. “I might as well indulge you…”

Ryder resumed his deep thrusting, and after only another moment did Kandros feel ready to release. He tensed up, and he could see Ryder was steadily approaching. Suddenly, an idea hatched in Kandros’ mind, and he quickly pushed himself up, wrapping his arms around Ryder, and started kissing him, Ryder easily (and surprisingly) supporting his weight. While Ryder was startled, he took it in stride and eagerly returned the kiss. The two passionately kissed, Kandros forcing his tongue down Ryder’s lips (to no resistance), and Kandros finally came, his cum splattering onto his chest plates. Ryder came soon after, filling Kandros with a warmth he hadn’t felt for a long time, and Kandros moaned in the kiss. Ryder finished his thrusting after a moment and fell onto Kandros, the two still kissing as they fell onto the bed. Ryder pulled out with a wet noise and lay on top of Kandros, his hips grinding into the other’s dick. Kandros broke the kiss with an even wetter noise, drawing his tongue out of Ryders mouth tantalizingly. 

“Spirits, Scott... “

“Shut up and let me kiss you, Tiran.” Kandros didn’t move, only stared into Ryder’s eyes.

“Scott, I love you so  _ much _ .” Ryder blushed, and pressed his forehead against Kandros’.

“I love you too, Tiran.” The two resumed their messy kissing, with Kandros’ hands traveling over Ryder’s glistening body and Ryder’s gripping Kandros’ ass. 

  
  


Kandros’ eyes opened slowly, the light shimmering through the windows of Ryder’s cabin on the Tempest. He felt refreshed. And happy. And  _ good _ . His mind wandered to the night before and he smiled, his subvocals purring happily. 

_ Last night was amazing… _ Kandros slowly rose, his eyes taking in every little detail of the cabin. All of its flaws and imperfections, every seam, every little thing. And he was at peace. No longer was he seeking out a change, something to differ in his daily routine, his crack in a ceiling. Instead, he observed, he lived, he  _ experienced _ . He had been brought out of his rut by Ryder, and Kandros wanted nothing more than to rut him again. Speaking of Ryder…

“Scott?” He wasn’t in the bed, so Kandros rose, plates slightly shimmering, and took a few steps forward. The doors opened and Ryder walked in, wearing a garment humans called ‘sweats’ and holding two plates of food. Kandros only had eyes for Ryder and strode over to him, ignoring Ryder’s blushing eyes as he examined Kandros’ body. The taller turian reached Ryder and set his hands on his waist, burying his face into Ryder’s neck.

“Hey, hey, I have food for you! You’re gonna make me drop it…” Kandros laughed and pulled away, following him to a small table in his cabin. Ryder made a big show of setting down both plates and pulling out Kandros’ chair, seating the turian, then sitting in his own chair.

“Ryder, what are you doing?” Kandros smiled at him warmly.

“Just making a special breakfast for my special someone.” Kandros blushed slightly, his neck turning blue. 

“Speaking of, what did you make?” Kandros looked down, examining his plate.

“Ah, well, I was trying to make  _ paneserrup _ but, since I’ve never cooked a Dextro meal before, it kinda turned out… well…” Ryder’s face grew more red, and Kandros laughed.

“It looks great.” He grabbed a fork, cut and took a bite. “Mmm… It’s pretty good!”  
Ryder exhaled a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank God. I thought I messed up along the way.”

Kandros took another bite and looked over at Ryder’s plate. “What do you have?” It looked much like  _ paneserrup, _ except it was a golden brown with a darker colored syrup.

“These are waffles, they’re basically  _ paneserrup _ , but the human version.” Ryder took a bite and smiled. “They’re pretty popular among humans.”

Kandros put down his fork, giving a sly smile. “This is good, but it’s not what I’m hungry for.” Ryder looked up and, seeing Kandros giving him a predatory stare, blushed hard.

“What do you mean?” Ryder definitely knew what he meant, but Kandros would play his game. He stood up slowly, his talons gripping the table and he leaned in close to Ryder. Thankfully, the table wasn't’ too big. Kandros was able to get mere inches from Ryder’s face, and Kandros huffed into Ryder’s face. 

“I want you.”

Ryder reached up and kissed Kandro’s mandible, and Kandros returned by planting his lip plates on Ryder’s own lips. Together, they carried each other to the bed, and Kandros set Ryder down gently. 

“SAM, disable any communications with the Tempest crew.”

“Done, Ryder.”

Kandros laughed. “Don’t want any repeats of yesterday, do we?”

“Yeah, I’d rather not.”

Ryder looked up at Kandros, who licked his lips with his massive tongue. “Just, ah, be gentle. I’m still sore.” 

Kandros laughed, breaking his facade. He looked at Ryder adoringly and took in the sight underneath him. The position of Scott, his well-muscled arms above his head, his beautiful sapphire blue eyes glowing up at him, his half-smile that just turned Kandros on, his stubble that felt  _ amazing _ on Kandros’ mandibles. Kandros leaned in and kissed Scott on his lips, breathing into him, taking in his scent. Marking him.

“I love you, Scott.”

“I love you too, Tiran.”

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, this was so much fun to work on, and I had an amazing artist to work with! It was totally awesome!


End file.
